Again
by TippierCoffee
Summary: LTLY 2/4. A new neighbour, a new friend, a new secret. [Possible trigger starting at ch. 9/10] (REWRITTEN CH. 14/21)
1. Neighbours

**Author: TippierCoffee**

**Disclaimer: I do not own—nor do I claim the rights to—any of the characters from the show **_**Codename: Kids Next Door**_**. All credit goes to rightful owner: Mr. Tom Warburton.**

**LTLY series: 1. Learning To Love You; 2. Again; 3. Alone; 4. Ever After.**

**OBS: I gave Wally's parents names. Mum: Kayla Beetles, dad: Wilbert Beetles.**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

Neighbours.

Rattlings of chains joined in unison with the moaning of decaying people, just waiting to rot up in this place with no air. No one was a person here, not any longer anyways, and the same went for the blonde tearing apart on the inside, while being scorched by invisible flames.

-_I'm in hell, and my second chance at life is coming soon. I deserve worse. I deserve death. I am guilty…_-

* * *

_Friday August 18th, 4.30pm_

With the sun heating her skin, and the air playfully tugging at her now-shoulder-length-hair, Kuki Sanban skipped down the street with a smile upon her face. Her petite frame covered by a green T-shirt and a black knee-length skirt. She hummed a silent melody while her friend—Amber Stanton—just gave her a smile while shaking her head.

Even though both girls were at the age of sixteen, and had just started as freshmen at Garfield Heights, Kuki was one of the most childish people Amber had yet to meet, not that it mattered a lot to her, but it was kind of funny to see a sixteen-year-old girl skip on the streets and hum the Rainbow monkey theme.

Kuki could often not hep but be a bit jealous of Amber's seemingly flawless features. Amber stood about four centimeters taller than herself, and her curves were a lot more visible, because she was more average sized, compared to Kuki who had been picked on throughout middle school, and people had been spreading rumors that she liked to either starve herself or throw up her food after eating; which was not true. Even though Kuki had cut her hair, so it was now only at the middle of her shoulders rather than the middle of her back, her straight-across fringe and round face still made her look childish, and especially when she was next to someone like Amber, who had an oval face and her orange hair cut in layers was framing it and made her actually look her age—even one year older to some guys.

Despite their differences the two girls had developed a pretty close friendship already, mostly because they had almost every class together along with two other girls Kuki had developed strong friendships to as well. One of them—Abigail Lincoln—had however seemed so incredibly familiar from the moment Kuki had seen her, and even though she also felt Rachel McKenzie seemed familiar as well, she didn't seem as familiar as Abby.

Kuki had asked her parents about having friends over for a sleep over last Friday, and when they had said yes she had invited the three girls, though only Amber had been able to go unfortunately. Abby had finally been allowed to come and try her hand at helping her father at the hospital for the weekend, and Rachel, her parents and her brother were going to visit some family who lived elsewhere.

"Seems like it's just you and me tonight." Amber teased, sticking her tongue out while nudging Kuki's shoulder with her own playfully; owning a giggle from Kuki.

"I'm sure it will be loads of fun regardless." Kuki smiled, her angled autumn coloured eyes shimmering in the sun.

"Of course it will, because you and I know how to make a party happen." Amber adjusted the strap of her sports bag, in which she had packed her clothes for the weekend, while speeding up her pace a little to keep up with Kuki's skipping.

Even though their conversations were mostly either about guys or celebrity gossip—which Amber kept up with almost religiously—the two girls did enjoy each other's company. Amber wasn't exactly a horrible girl, but she was a gossiper, and especially when she gossiped about the people from their high school, every thing she said should be taken with a grain of salt. She was just starting one of her other rants about how incredibly hot she though Taylor Lautner was, and why she was convinced she would one day meet him and steal his heart completely, when they reached the front of Kuki's house and a moving truck across the street made Amber stop in her tracks with big eyes, while shutting up immediately. The moving truck held in front of the house, its back open with the two movers tirelessly taking furniture out to the front yard, both the woman and her husband helping them as much as possible. Kuki guessed that they might not be able to afford for the movers to actually put their stuff into their house.

Their ancient car, which was probably a model from the mid ninety's, stood in the driveway, and on the grass field—placed so he wouldn't be in the way—sat a small boy, probably at the age of seven, playing with a toy car; his blonde bowl-cut hair teasing the top of his eyes.

"You didn't tell me you were getting new neighbours." Amber stated curiously, while constantly cocking her head to get a better look at the couple.

"I didn't know." Kuki admitted, curiosity settling in her eyes. "Or wait… Actually; yeah that's right. I didn't think they were coming until next week or so."

"Want to go see if they need help with anything?" Amber asked, a mischievous smile working its way to her lips. She was definitely making an excuse to snoop around and find out who Kuki's new neighbours were, but Kuki guessed it couldn't hurt to be friendly and ask anyways. She also couldn't deny that she was a bit curious herself.

"Sure." She smiled after a while. "After we've put your stuff into my room, then we can go and see if they need help."

"Yes!" Amber whispered loudly, bouncing on the spot, before jogging ahead to Kuki's house, so they could get to know her new neighours as fast as possible.

* * *

"What day is it?" I asked with a hoarse voice. A voice that I hardly recognized because it was so tired and so non-caring. A voice that carried the clear trace that I had lost track of how long I had been stuck here, and it had lost all personality; either because I had forgotten who I was, or thought I had forgotten who I was.

Either way it didn't really matter much, I just needed to know which day it was, and that time at least still existed somewhere, even though it was often hard to keep track of it. That might, however, have been mainly because I didn't sleep properly anymore. I had all but forgotten when I last had had a full night's sleep, or even a decent sleep for that matter. My eyes were hurting so much because of the sleepiness and my lids felt too heavy to keep open, though not as heavy as my eyeballs themselves, which I was convinced would fall out anytime soon.

"Don't worry." A deep voice replied, protected by a cage. "You should be getting out in about fourteen days. That's two weeks if you should have forgotten."

Already? That didn't really answer my question though, it just made me a bit more anxious about what would happen when I was out, where my parents were now, and how I would meet up with them. I didn't want to be thinking about that at this current point of time, I wanted to know what day it was. I needed to know because I had totally lost track of time in every way possible; but I guess that's what happens when you end up in hell.

* * *

Kuki skipped happily over to the Mrs. of the house with Amber closely behind her, her excitement almost betraying her and giving her away. They stopped in front of the house, making sure to not be in the way of the movers, who were almost done taking out furniture and boxes, then Kuki stepped in front of the woman and changed her attitude completely, not forgetting her manners.

"Hi" She chirped, catching the attention of the woman who had just come out after carrying in one of the many boxes, while in the background she heard how the movers spoke to the husband, got their payment, and took off. "My name is Kuki Sanban and I live in the house across the street. This is my friend Amber." She gestured shortly to Amber, who just gave a wave with a silly grin. "We were just wondering, if maybe you need any help moving your stuff in?"

Kuki couldn't help but notice that the woman wasn't all that tall, probably around one hundred and seventy centimeters just like amber. She had short blonde hair, cut in a bob-cut, her thick fringe covering her eyebrows. Freckles were spread across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, but her eyes were what caught Kuki most off guard. They were a deep emerald green that Kuki could never remember having seeing before, yet it felt like it triggered something within her seeing the woman's eyes. She quickly shook the thought and tried not to stare too much, which would probably make the woman think she was weird or something.

"Why, wouldn't that just be the nicest thing I have ever experienced?" She smiled, talking with a thick accent which Kuki couldn't really determine. It was either Australian or British she thought, not entirely the same accent her friend Nigel Uno had. "If the two of you would just carry it to the living room, that would just be ace. My name is Kayla by the way, Kayla Beetles, and that there is my husband Wilbert Beetles." She nodded her head in the direction of her husband, who gave a short nod and a little smile.

Even though he was probably no more than two centimeters taller than his wife, he seemed like a gentle and handsome man. His hair was cut in a thin bowl cut and he carried a goofy lopsided grin while carrying things inside with a whistle. But unlike his wife his eyes were dark blue, the same eye colour Kuki had skimmed their small boy having.

"That's our son Joey." Kayla continued, nodding at the small boy. "He just turned seven recently."

"He's so adorable!" Kuki squealed, unable to hold it inside her.

She had really tried, but seeing the small boy up front just made her feel fuzzy inside, and she had the strangest urge to just skip right over to him and give him a bone crushing hug—though that urge she would keep restrained. Amber stood giggling at her side, while rubbing her right ear lightly because she had been standing right next to Kuki when she had had her outburst, and Kayla was laughing warmheartedly at her.

"Sorry." Kuki mumbled embarrassed, while shuffling her feet with a small blush upon her face.

"It's okay." Mrs. Beetles laughed, handing out boxes to the two girls. "Just to the living room and we'll handle the rest, yeah?"

"Sure." Amber smiled, shoving Kuki lightly with her box, and the two of them started carrying mostly boxes inside, while letting Mr. and Mrs. Beetles handle the furniture.

* * *

_6pm_

Time had passed and one thing had turned into another. Even though the two girls had only agreed to help carrying in the boxes they had had such a wonderful time—Kuki getting to know the family a bit and Amber gossiping—that they had completely lost track of time. After the last box had been carried inside they had stayed a little longer to help assemble and placing furniture. Every once in a while the couple and the girls would take a break, and even Joey had started joining in moving some of the lighter stiff, or carrying his own things into his room. They would all just sit at the dining table and sip Mrs. Beetles' tasty homemade lemonade, while talking about school and jobs, though Amber was no stranger to gossiping about almost any guy in the school, as well as her so-called future celebrity husband.

There were only a few boxes left at the moment, scattered around the floor in the living room, probably because most of the were labeled _Living room_ and therefore belonged in there; though there were a also few labeled _Kitchen_ and _Bedroom_, but amongst the mess Kuki spotted a single box with the name _Wally_ written on it.

"Who's Wally?" She asked curiously, putting her attention to Mrs. Beetles who was just finishing setting up the TV table near the couch.

"Oh!" Mrs. Beetles exclaimed, her head popping up while she walked over to Kuki's side. Kuki couldn't help but notice Amber prick up her ears in the background, ready to absorb every single word while pretending not to listen—even though anyone with working eyes could see she was.

"That's my other son." Mrs. Beetles continued, while stroking the surface of the cardboard box affectionately with a longing smile upon her lips. As if she was scared that the box and everything within it would disappear if it didn't get this kind of attention. "He's the same age as the two of you. He's currently attending a boarding school where we just moved from, where he's working with his temper." A few tears strolled effortlessly down the woman's cheeks while she seemed lost in a place Kuki would probably never know of.

"When… When is he coming back?" She asked carefully, hoping she didn't sound too pushy or anything.

"September first. This year of course."

Kuki bit her bottom lip softly while looking at Mrs. Beetles who tried to wipe away her ever pressing tears so she could push them aside and not worry the girls. Kuki sensed the woman kind of didn't want to talk about this, but her own curiosity was so big, and she hated it right now as it kept pressing against her scalp, and sending her tongue over her teeth, while the more compassionate side of her desperately tried to keep her mouth shut. Of course she couldn't.

"How long has he been there?"

"One and a half year." Kayla sighed, her body shaking with hurt. "Excuse me." She concluded, her voice groggy and almost incoherent. Then she walked at a fast pace to the nearest bathroom where she locked herself in and started crying silently.

Kuki looked down to the grey carpet on the floor, and felt her stomach sink deep into a vortex that had opened inside of her, while her heart started getting pulled downward as well. She wished more than anything she had just asked where she should take the box instead of asking about the name, or at least just shut up about her questions of where he was and how long he had been there when it was clear his mother missed him dearly. Why couldn't she just learn to keep her mouth shut and stay out of business that was none of hers?

Behind them footsteps approached and the two girls heard Mr. Beetles clear his throat softly, which caught their attention. Amber with curiosity still visible in her ocean blue eyes, and Kuki with guilt written all over her face.

"We really appreciate all of your hard work and help girls, but I think it's best if you go back home for today. Besides, it's getting quite late." He nodded to the clock near the front door, where the time already read six twenty five pm, and even though he kept on smiling something in his eyes had changed, making it clear that he too, was now deeply lost in his own thoughts.

"As a token of appreciation I can give you this." He sighed, fishing up two five dollar bills. "I'm very sorry I can't give you more than this girls."

"No problem Wilbert." Amber smiled, accepting the money with a hint of triumph in her eyes.

Kuki looked down to the floor yet again, feeling a bit embarrassed on behalf of her friend, who seemed greedy right now, even though she actually wasn't. Then she looked up to Mr. Beetles and shook her head with a little smile on her lips.

"Thanks a lot for the offer Mr. Beetles, but I just felt like helping you out, really. You don't have to pay me."

"I guess that means I owe you one." He then smiled, stuffing the note into his pocket again with a little smile, before showing the two of them out the door.

"That was odd." Amber commented after Mr. Beetles had closed the door.

"What was?" Kuki asked, her head hung low and her insides still being pulled into the vortex inside of her.

"The way they reacted when you started asking about their oldest son."

"I shouldn't have—"

"What do you think they're hiding?" Amber's eyes lit up with excitement as they entered the house. "I bet it's something really juicy."

"Maybe they were just telling the truth." Kuki replied, disbelief sneaking into her voice. How could Amber be so non-caring of this whole situation?

"Maybe." Amber chewed, settling onto Kuki's bed with a little sigh. "Do you think he's hot? I bet he is."

Kuki couldn't help but giggle a little even though part of her felt like scolding Amber for her indifference. She decided it would just make her feel worse with herself though, so she absentmindedly settled for pretending to listen to Amber's gossip and assumptions.

* * *

Darkness never felt so suffocating before, and by each passing night it would tighten its killer grip even more around his entire body, denying him everything that life would usually give him on a plastic platter. Mixed with the darkness was helpless moaning and cries, pleas for forgiveness and confessions of guilt. A choir of never ending voices, crying relentlessly into the brutal night, while the last of the lights were turned off and a demonic jingle followed the guard until he was away, and they were all left to the mercy of the devil himself.

-_I am rotting up in hell… I am so sorry_.-

* * *

**2013 Rewrite. Originally written between October 21st 2010 - March 31st 2011. I hope you enjoyed this rewrite.**

**Criticism and/or advices on improvement is/are highly appreciated and welcome :)**

**~*~TippierCoffee~*~**


	2. Homecoming

**Author: TippierCoffee**

**Disclaimer: I do not own—nor do I claim the rights to—any of the characters from the show **_**Codename: Kids Next Door**_**. All credit goes to rightful owner: Mr. Tom Warburton.**

**LTLY series: 1. Learning To Love You; 2. Again; 3. Alone; 4. Ever After.**

**OBS: I gave Wally's parents names. Mum: Kayla Beetles, dad: Wilbert Beetles.**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

Homecoming.

_Friday September 1st, 12pm_

Flaming red blew around him in never ending streams, it tore apart the sky and blinded him. Tears streamed down a pale face, with a blood-red mouth quivering vehemently until a deep frown fell upon it. For a moment his eyes could see nothing but the ocean of red and the down-turned lips, and his eyes were just about to travel up to meet hers when she let out an ear-piercing scream that tore apart the sky and crushed every bone and muscle inside him until he fell like a pile of goo onto the ground.

-_I am sorry._- He couldn't speak because she was killing every fiber inside of him, but he deeply wished he could. -_I am so sorry!_-

A loud wham of metal against metal woke him from his slumber, and a guard exited from the safety of his own cage—or maybe he was stepping into a cage that was designed for the teenage boy to be unable to harm anyone else.

"This is it." The guard said, his deep voice trying desperately to sneak in some sort of compassion. For a moment the teenage boy, who the guard was speaking to, found it ironic that his favourite colour was still orange, despite him having been covered from head to toe by the colour for the last year and a half. "Let's go and get you changed, come on."

The teenage boy lingered in the cage, then he doubtfully stood up and went to stand beside the man in the dark blue uniform—its colour was so dark it almost looked black. The guard went a bit ahead, fishing the thick stick out of its place so he could beat up cages if any of the other prisoners started too much of a riot, and together they walked toward the end of the hall and further still until they reached a small office where a box was placed with the teenage boy's full name on it. A name he hardly recognized after having been robbed of it for so long.

"Well." The guard stated impatiently, holding a door to a small room open. "What are you waiting for? Go inside and get changed."

Get changed? The teenage boy looked up to meet the eyes of the guard, his eyes lingering on the man's uniform with all the patches sown onto it, meant to represent how high up in the hierarchy this guard was compared to the others. He then looked uncertain to the pile of clothes in his own hand, noticing his belt was not there because the guard had removed it; probably so he wouldn't try something stupid, like committing suicide again.

"What day is it?" The teenager asked, his eyes heavy and dropping, and his voice so weak it was almost invisible due to the fact that he had hardly slept yet again this night.

"It's the day where we set you free. Now get changed before I change my mind, I _do_ have other things to attend to." The guard stressed.

-_Free? What does that mean again?_- The teenager took one last uncertain look at his clothes then the guard, before circumspectly walking into the room and letting the guard close and lock the door behind him. He started carefully pulling off his overalls, then he started dressing with shaking hands, feeling the fabric of his clothes anew while a thousand tormenting images flashed sadistically against his eyes making him even dizzier than he already was.

When he was done he cautiously stepped over to the door and gave a small knock to let the guard know he was done, and shortly after that he heard the lock click as the door was unlocked and then opened by the guard, whose chest was shot out while his eyes were all agog when he gave the teenager back his belt. All the muscles of the guard's body were tense and prepared, just in case the teenager tried anything. Unfortunately for the over prepared guard—who was probably just getting agitated because he was missing one of his favourite shows which ran during his break—the teenager just put the belt on and then he stood there, looking into the ground and feeling as lost as the day he had arrived.

"Follow me please." The guard sighed impatiently, taking a grip around the teenager's shoulder while guiding him further toward the exit.

The teenager could feel everything within him tightening and speeding up. His breath caught in his throat while his blood rushed to his head with such speed and ferocity it made him dizzier still. His eyes were burning and his jaw was shifting between loosening and tightening, while his legs started feeling wobbly and he caught a hiccup as the first door to outside was opened. It was almost too much to bear after having gotten used to everything in here, more or less, and now all of a sudden it was expected of him to get out of the pits of hell and just waltz onto the streets without caring or worrying. Forgetting everything as he left it behind, but how could he ever forget something like this that would affect everything he did, or could ever do, for the rest of his life? How was he expected to just live a normal life when this was what was normal for him now? How did they ever expect him to forget the strange comfort of his own nightmares and just step straight into utopia?

He felt so uncertain and scared, and as they stepped fully outside everything was so bright, so blinding, and the air was almost too fresh. So full of a promised land called freedom, though he was not sure this land even existed, or that it ever had. So full of too much, expanding his lungs so widely it felt as thought they were being blown up by something inside.

They stepped over the pavement until they were at the last gate, and at the other side, in front of an ancient white car, stood a blonde man with half a smile waiting for his passenger to finally step into the real world after being gone for far too long. It was the last step to final freedom, and even though the teenage boy had been in the courtyard they had here, something about hearing the last fence finally open made him realize that once he was out he was finally free. No fences to make sure he wouldn't step where he wasn't supposed to, no guards with guns getting ready to stop a riot, no voices threatening to kill him in low venomous whispers which would haunt him for the rest of the day, making him paranoid. It was the final step, and he was gently pushed out by the guard who spoke to the blonde man with an encouraging smile, while telling something about how wonderfully behaved the teenage boy had been, and how quickly he had started finding the right path, and how the man should help the teenager make sure to stay out of trouble like this for future references.

The teenager took a deep breath wondering if the air had always tasted this good, then he observed the guard walk back to the penitentiary and he was almost about to follow troop when the man lay a warm hand on his shoulders before softly speaking his name.

"Wally." Wally looked up to the man, who was only about two centimeters taller than himself, emerald meeting blue, confusion meeting smile, and suddenly everything was just too much.

"Dad." Wally sobbed, almost toppling both of them over as he went to embrace his father, tears streaming down his cheeks and gravity pulling everything inside of him down. "Dad. I—"

"I know son, I know." Wilbert comforted, stroking the blonde locks of his oldest son, who was long overdue a haircut.

Wilbert remained like that, despite his body almost being too fragile to carry the weight of his son, but he wanted to calm him down, and when he had succeeded he guided Wally to the front seat where he put on his seatbelt, and absentmindedly glanced out the window as the engine was started, making the car shake subtly below them while his dad put it into gear. He observed the enormous stronghold as is passed by, its grey colour the only thing his eyes saw before drowsiness took over, and his head started bobbing into the window while his body gave into sleep, his brain convincing him this was all just a dream. A dream in which he was about to enter another dream, but it didn't matter; dreams like these were what kept him going through the madness, so he let it be while the darkness swallowed him whole. Slowly but surely.

* * *

_Subtle winds tore through the fallen leaves and send a shiver to anybody not dressed properly. Mixed with the rattling of leaves—and the chirping of birds calling for their spouse so they could build a warm nest as a base for the winter—was the laughter of three guys between the ages of fourteen and fifteen. Although, unlike the scenery around them, which was peaceful even though it was dying, their laughter was rough and full of insanity._

"_This is so funny." The first one said, his voice carrying authority even when it was at its darkest and most irrational._

_He started cackling while standing up a bit, exposing his blood covered body, as well as the blood covered ground; and suddenly a demonic domino effect started unfolding itself, painting all trees red with by the hands of the first, painting all of the ground red with the blood of open wounds, painting all of the sky red by shed tears and unheard cries for help. The first bend down again to a lifeless form on the ground, and the two others soon followed suit, digging into whatever the source of blood was, gorging out intestines with unnerving splashing and popping sounds._

_Horrified, unable to move, Wally watched from a distance how the three of them started tearing meat off and shoving it into their mouths, chewing with grunts of laughter which got mixed with the never ending sound of intestines being forcefully torn out of their places. The second guy started cupping his hands, catching whatever blood he could out of her abdomen, then he showed it to his mouth and tilted his head backwards, and even though Wally was standing behind the three of them he could clearly picture the blood trailing down the corner of the second's mouth. Wally's entire body started twitching and before he could stop it his leg shot out to the side, catching the attention of the three who stopped everything they were dong immediately._

_With an almost unnatural slowness to his every move, the first started standing up again, something firmly locked in his right hand, and when he was finally up he slowly turned his head, then his eyes. Wally could feel his breath catch in his throat as he stood there, frozen to the spot, locking eyes with the first who gave him a wide grin, torn flesh caught between his teeth and blood painting his entire mouth. He started turning his body, the two others following suit until all three of them were facing him, their smiles unrealistically wide and their eyes shimmering with monstrousness._

"_Don't you want a bite?" The first one asked tilting his head, his voice a mixture of evil and emotionless, while he with a cackle presented the still throbbing heart to Wally._

_Wally shook his head, his own heart thrusting so hard against his chest he could feel its rhythm throughout his entire body, and it made him deaf as he found he couldn't blink, couldn't think and he could hardly even breathe. His body then went from being motionless, to shaking so vehemently beneath him he was sure he would fall to the ground, unable to move, and when he did the two would hold him—one of them forcing hims mouth open—while the first would shove the heart forcefully into his mouth._

_The three of them started letting out an unnatural chorus of laughter as they began stepping closer, their smiles ever growing, and in his head Wally started screaming for his legs to move; and just as he thought all hope was out his left leg finally budged and he found he was backing away from the three maniacs. Faster and faster, farther and farther, until his mind was satisfied with the three of them being out of eyesight. He quickly turned in his steps so he could start running faster than he ever had before, although he only just got to turn around and take the first far step, before he fell over something which was hard and soft all at once. He felt gravity pull him down and send him face first into the ground, and for a moment he wondered if he had stumbled over a log, though he knew that whatever had caused him to trip was far too soft to be made of tree. He sat on his knees, then turned to his buttocks which made the leaves shuffle below him, and while he rubbed his throbbing head, he looked to the ground to see what he had fallen over._

"Wally?"

_A female figure lay at the spot, cascades of blood red hair spread around her oval face and covering the ground around her. She turned her pale face with the blue lips, and looked at him accusingly, tears sneaking into her dead deep-blue eyes._

"_You promised." She sobbed, standing up while tears of blood started streaming down her cheeks, painting her face to match her hair. The sight frightened him so much he got pinned to the spot unable to take his eyes off of her._

"_I…"_

"Wally?!"

"_You promised!" She screamed high pitched, her face contorting in pain and anger, while the winds started howling through the woods, picking up leaves and tossing them in circles around her as she started stepping closer to him._

_He just kept being held to the spot by invisible hands that promised nothing but death while she started tearing apart the sky with a high-pitched mournful scream, spreading her arms out, then covering her ears with them as blood started streaming viciously out of her eyes which were now fully white, her mouth which was now so open her jaw was out of place, her ears which were now chipping and falling off, her veins which were now getting so thick they were bursting._

_Her painful expression doubled in tensity as she fell to her knees, then she started crawling towards him, a hot mess of decaying flesh, falling off to expose bleeding muscles, while she kept screaming so loudly his ears started ringing and he was sure he'd go deaf from it. His heart jumped to his throat when he realized that he had now become trapped between her and a wall of tall trees, and even if he somehow miraculously could get his legs to obey him once again and move, he was in a dead-end trap and she was coming closer, and closer, and closer._

"Wally!" He snapped his eyes open just to realize he was bathed in red lights and for a moment he wondered how many dreams or nightmares he needed to have all at once within himself before his mind was finally satisfied with having driven him completely over the edge.

He rubbed his eyes and looked around in the familiar surroundings of the interior of his dad's car, then he looked to his dad who was sitting next to him with a small smile planted upon his face and a hand resting on his shoulder, and Wally found he broke down in that instant, his head bobbing towards the comfort of his dad who leaned in closer and held him to his chest.

It was too much, too painful, too unreal, yet he could feel it so clearly and it was not fair. He wanted to get away, to actually be here rather than dream it. He wanted to hit himself so hard in the head that he would either awaken or convince himself this was actually him being awake.

"We're resting here for the night lad." His dad smiled. "We still have a bit to go before we're back home with your mum, I just came back from booking a room for us son. Giddy up and follow me."

Wally looked around again, feeling disorientated and exhausted, but things started making a bit more sense when he stepped out, and was met by a breeze that was too real to be formed by a dream, and his eyes fell on the red neon sign that read _Motel_.

"Eleven pm." His dad stated shortly. "Been driving nine hours already, but we still have a six and a half hour drive ahead of us or so before we reach Cleveland. I wanted to have you stretch your legs a couple of times, but you've been sleeping like a little child the whole drive, so I couldn't get myself to wake you up.

"There is a McDonalds meal for you in the back though, if you're hungry, which I reckon you are. Just bring it with you and eat it in our room."

Wally opened the back door of the car, and reached in to grab a hold of the brown paper back, which he carefully brought with him to the room, hardly ever taking his eyes off of the priced bag with something edible inside. He had all but forgotten how McDonalds food, which was often soaked in too much oil, smelled. But right now it was the best scent he could ever recall having experienced, and it made his mouth water, shortly accompanied by his stomach growling gluttonously.

He carefully walked inside the small room and opened up the bag, the fumes of unhealthy food overriding all of his senses, and before he knew of it he was chewing and swallowing his food with such a speed, one would almost think he was being starved. It felt so good, tasted so good, validated his freedom, and while he in his eager almost choked on his food, his tears started mixing salt with bread and beef and salad.

* * *

_Saturday September 2nd, 3pm._

Wally absentmindedly looked at the bypassing cars on the road some distance away, and the kids running around, while air playfully tugged at his hair and made his eyes water. Unlike yesterday where his dad had hardly taken a rest from driving because Wally was asleep, they were currently on the second pit stop of the day. Every time felt like a whole new experience, and even though the ground had stopped wobbling below his feet, his heart never ceased to race and make him feel like he was either born a new or head over heels in love with the world. Whenever they stopped another place, his father would buy him a soft drink, or whatever else he could think of wanting to re-taste.

"Well." His dad exclaimed, hitting his lap softly with his hands. "This is the last stop, rest of the drive will be one and a half hour long, so if you need to use the little men's room it's now or never son."

Wally gave a short nod, before downing the rest of his orange flavoured soft drink, then he tossed the bottle into the bin that had a picture of a bottle on it within a triangle, made out of three arrows pointing at each other. He smiled a little at the recycle sign before heading downstairs to the restrooms, and then he rejoined his father once again about two minutes later.

"Ready?" His dad smiled.

"Yeah."

* * *

_Winds were blowing out of control mixed with soft rain. Everything smelled fresh, yet something within him made him feel so unnerved he couldn't enjoy the freshness of autumn. Something felt so out of place that everything was out of place, and before he knew it he let his feet carry him along the path, while noticing the things around him that made this seem so nerve wrecking to him._

_There was only one path to take, only one direction to walk. To either side of him, side by side like a tall fence, stood naked trees. They stood almost so closely together that they seemed to embrace one another, but behind them there was nothing, and when he looked back he saw that everything was in darkness and the path was being erased as he walked it. Yet, he had to keep walking, because if everything behind him was disappearing into a nothingness which seemed to follow him, it would surely swallow him whole the moment he stopped in his tracks._

_He looked forth and sped up a bit, hoping to shake whatever followed behind him, but no matter how fast he walked it kept being there, right behind him. He sped up to a jog, but it still kept following. Closely watching, gripping at his shirt like a shadow meant to kill anything and everything, and suddenly he was at a circular opening. The path behind him long gone, but the towering trees still giving him no option but to stand at the edge of this circle. Above him the sky was grey and clouds were gathering, beneath him the leaves were a mixture of reds and oranges and greens and yellows._

_Behind the trees was nothing but darkness, tightly embracing the bark and the branches, and the roots tearing out of the ground so the trees could take a step closer and force him further into the middle of the circle._

_So close he became strangely claustrophobic, and as he started suffocating, the winds picked up in speed and the sky darkened and warm rain started pouring down on him. Warm, red rain, and he looked up to the skies, only to see a face contorted in hurt and blame, flesh tearing from muscle, muscle tearing from bone._

"_You promised!"_

* * *

_4.30pm_

Wally opened his eyes with a loud gasp, partly because of his ever returning vivid dream, and partly because he had been jolted awake by the car stopping in front of a house in a nice looking neighbourhood.

"We're here son." Wilbert beamed. "How do you like your new home sport?"

"It looks nice." Wally said tiredly, before unbuckling his seatbelt and stepping out of the car.

He let the winds tingle against his skin and tug at his hair, trying to stop his overly tired imagination from tricking his brain into seeing it as the same scene he had just seen in his slumber. He heard the front door open and watched as his mother went to embrace his father before giving a quick peck to his lips, which he returned with a little smile at the corner of his lips. He saw how his brother stood a little uncertain in the door opening, gazing up at him with curious eyes, a smile quickly replacing his saddened expression.

"Wally!" He laughed, running over and ramming straight into Wally, his head just barely reaching the middle of Wally's stomach.

"Hey Joey." Wally laughed, his voice groggy and a few tears shimmering in his eyes. He knelt to return the embrace fully while stroking his younger brother's hair affectionately, then pushing him out at an arm's length. "Let me see you. Wow, you grew a little didn't you?"

"Just a bit." Joey smiled, skipping out of Waly's embrace and over to the side of their father.

"Hello my little kangaroo." Kayla smiled, tears springing to her eyes as she opened her arms, and that was what made everything inside Wally tip and made him finally realize that he was home.

"Mum." He sobbed, stepping closer with wobbly feet; then he leaned into her and let all the hurt and guilt pour out in loud sobs. "Mum. I'm sorry mum, I'm so sorry."

"Shh. It's okay my little Wallabee, it's all right." She stroked his hair while silently crying alongside him, and letting him clutch onto her as though he were a helpless child.

-_Never again, never again, never again…_-

* * *

**2013 Rewrite. Originally written between October 21st 2010 - March 31st 2011. I hope you enjoyed this rewrite.**

**Criticism and/or advices on improvement is/are highly appreciated and welcome :)**

**~*~TippierCoffee~*~**


	3. Dinner

**Author: TippierCoffee**

**Disclaimer: I do not own—nor do I claim the rights to—any of the characters from the show **_**Codename: Kids Next Door**_**. All credit goes to rightful owner: Mr. Tom Warburton.**

**LTLY series: 1. Learning To Love You; 2. Again; 3. Alone; 4. Ever After.**

**OBS: I gave Wally's parents names. Mum: Kayla Beetles, dad: Wilbert Beetles.**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

Dinner.

_Sunday September 3rd, 4pm._

It was a quiet afternoon that day at the Sanban's, and even though the walls carried a faded echo of an argument between the two sisters—which had ended some time ago—everything still managed to give off an impression of pure idyll. A gentle knock sounded from the door, and it had hardly ceased before Kuki jumped out of the sofa with a giggle.

"I'll get it." She sang, skipping to the door while humming the rainbow monkey theme with a soft smile.

Mushi rolled her eyes behind her sister's back and took this as an opportunity to change channel. She was getting tired of the multitude of colours flashing effortlessly against the screen, so she clicked over to MTV and got herself immersed in the music video now being shown.

Kuki opened the door, her smile still solidly planted on her lips, and was greeted by the soft smile of Mrs. Beetles on the front step.

"Mrs. Beetles!" Kuki exclaimed happily her smile growing in her face. "What are you doing here?"

"Well. My husband and I have been wondering how to thank you for all of your hard work, when you helped us move in our stuff, and we've been talking a little until we agreed that we'd invite you and your family over for dinner."

"I don't know." Kuki muttered, shuffling her feet. "I don't want to trouble you or anything."

"Nonsense!" Kayla giggled.

"Kuki, who is it?" Kuki's mother—Genki Sanban—called as she came to the doorway.

"This is Mrs. Beetles, mum, she just moved in across the street some time ago." Kuki presented.

"Hello, I'm Genki Sanban, please come in." Genki smiled, letting Kayla inside.

"Why thank you." Kayla beamed, presenting her hand to Genki. "My name is Kayla Beetles, and as I was just saying to your daughter, my husband and I would really like to thank her for all of her hard work, when she and a friend helped us move in our stuff. My husband, Wilbert, offered her five dollars back then, but she said she didn't want to get paid, but we can't just do nothing to show our appreciation."

"I never knew." Genki exclaimed, with a pleased smile directed at her oldest daughter, who blushed a little while tugging her hair behind her ear.

"She was so incredibly helpful." Kayla went on with a warm smile, making Genki even more proud of her oldest. "We just really want to thank her, so we were thinking of inviting her and her family over for dinner today. Also because we learned that she's in the same high school our oldest son will start in tomorrow, and we figured it might be nice for him if he knew at least one person in the school before starting; unless you mind it of course?"

"Oh, no." Kuki said, shaking her head softly. "I always like making new friends, so not at all."

"Great." Kayla exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "How about you come over tonight at six pm then? Unless you have something planned that is."

"Absolutely." Genki replied, making the smile on Kayla's lips grow. "That sounds very interesting."

Kayla and Genki shook hands while Kuki stood and stared. A part of her felt a little guilty that the Beetles family would have to go through so much trouble because of her, but a part of her also felt very happy and very grateful. Then there was also the fact that their son had come home only yesterday. Kuki had gotten to catch a glance of him as he'd returned with his father, and she'd get to know him a little. She couldn't quite explain why, but she felt excited about getting to know Wally Beetles, whose name sounded oddly familiar to her.

* * *

_5.30pm_

Wally lay on his back on top of his bed, staring into the ceiling while relaxing for just a bit. Yesterday he had been too tired and too heartfelt to do anything much with his room, which also meant he had been sleeping on a mattress on the floor, but he had decided that today he would turn things up a notch and get really settled into his new home, so he had worked tirelessly ever since elven thirty pm or so. So far he had gotten to set up his closet, his bed and a shelve he owned, with a glass cupboard at each side of it. Its metallic surface casting of a silver-like hue in the dim lights from his temporary lamp.

The most recent items to be placed upon the metal shelf was his TV, and underneath it his DVD player and game consoles. He turned his head and looked through the window, which was right next to his bed, then cocked his head to look at the small white coffee table pressed against the corner, squeezed in between his bed and a wooden cabinet. A small smile spread on his lips when he recalled how, at the age of thirteen or so, his dad had helped him with solidifying his envision, by helping him pull out all the drawers and operate in three rows of shelves instead.

He turned his attention to the bare ceiling once again and heaved in, long and lustfully, catching the scent of his mother's cooking. It immediately made his mouth water while he pictured how she roamed around down there, humming a little tune as she stirred three pots all at once. It made his stomach growl loudly in protest even though he had eaten pretty regularly today, while reminding himself he didn't need to swallow his food anymore—but he figured his stomach was probably acting like that because he missed his mother's cooking.

The day before everything had been so hectic and so emotional, and sort of unbelievable, so Wally's parents had ordered pizza. While they had eaten they had been watching one of those silly Captain Yipper cartoons Wally used to love as a kid, which Joey still loved—almost twice as much as Wally probably had.

The scent of meat and vegetables were overriding his mind, making him simultaneously forget he hadn't been sleeping all that well that night while making him drowsy. He slipped into a momentary fantasy where he was eating far too much for his own good, and afterward he would be so full and satisfied, tiredness would take over and send him into a pleasant slumber for once. That was something his mind would still not give him, no matter what method he tried. He had tried chamomile tea and listening to zen music, but it had not kept away the nightmares at all. All it had done was make him fall asleep faster, which was not entirely bad in itself, but it was still nerve wrecking when he knew he would just be entering another horrific dream in which _she_ would haunt him once again.

"Wally!" His mother called from downstairs, ending his train of thoughts just as it was beginning. "Would you be a sweetie and come and help out a little?"

With a soft sigh he sat up in his bed and looked around in his room, a mixture of furniture and boxes. He would practically have to kick his way out of here, and the only items that had been put up besides his TV, DVD player and gaming consoles, were two framed photographs with a little 'banner' in between them. Only he or someone else without knowledge of the tale would probably think these pictures incredibly impersonal, but to Wally they represented everything he had ever done wrong in his life, and what he wouldn't repeat ever again.

"Coming!" He called back, standing up from the comfort of his bed and heading down the stairs. The scent of food becoming more intense the closer to the kitchen he came, and it made his mouth water so much he was almost worried for a second it would start spilling, making him drool.

"Why are you making so much?" He asked, eying the almost insane quantity of food his mother was preparing.

"Would you mind setting the table for eight?" His mother asked absentmindedly, avoiding his question completely.

"Eight? Who's coming?"

"Just the neighbours from across the street." His mother sang with a little sigh. "We invited them over for dinner tonight, and they accepted our invitation."

"Wait, what?" Wally was absolutely stunned by the news. Not because he minded his parents wanting to make friends with the neighbours or whatever, but couldn't they just have their first real meal together alone? "Why have you invited them over?"

"Because their daughter was kind enough to help us move our stuff in, and even unpacking some of it when we had just come. She didn't feel comfortable accepting the money your father offered her and her friend, so we're doing this instead.

"Besides, it's a nice opportunity. We get to settle in a little better and at least make some friendly acquaintance amongst our neighbours. Also their daughter goes to the same high school you'll be starting at, so we figured it might be nice for you to know at least one person when you start tomorrow."

"So you asked her to be my friend?" Wally asked, baffled and in disbelief.

"No." His mother said, feeling as though her patience was starting to get tested. "I just asked if she would mind maybe helping you find your way around and such tomorrow. She _does_ live right across the street after all."

Wally was just about to protest against his mother, except he had no idea what to say or do. Her logic was pretty much undebatable, and she was thinking about his best. She was just trying to help, and bickering with her about it, or trying to put words into her mouth by telling her off, and saying she couldn't just pick his friends for him, didn't seem all that progressive.

* * *

_6.15pm_

Cutlery scraped against plates while the adults conversed with fits of laughter and sipped their wine. Granted it wasn't the most expensive wine around, it didn't seem to matter a whole lot, and Wally subtly noticed that his mother was already starting to get a little intoxicated, although his mind was mostly focusing on him eating properly and not swallowing the food. No need to start a scene where he would almost choke in his haste and then the neighbours would just ask what was wrong with him, or if he didn't have any manners or something like that—that's what he feared anyways.

"So." Genki said, directing her attention towards Wally while taking another sip of her wine. "I hear you've recently returned from some sort of boarding school. Something with your temper?"

Wally cocked an eyebrow curiously at Genki feeling dizzy from the question which started running around in his head. Since when had he been to a boarding school that could help him with his temper? Since when had he even been to a boarding school that could keep him for more than one day before he broke out of there with ease? He curiously looked to his mother, whose entire face was painted red by a blush formed by guilt, and she stayed overly focused on the content of her platter, which was all it took for Wally to realize what was going on. Of course she hadn't actually told where he'd been—which he appreciated of course—she had made up a cruddy likely story instead, so he hid his annoyance about her at least not telling _him_ and decided to play along.

"Oh that! Yeah. You see, Mrs… What's your name again?" He asked with a nervous chuckle.

"Genki Sanban." Genki smiled.

"Mrs. Sanban. I had some anger management problems going on for me, and my dear mother was worried it'd get me in serious trouble if we didn't try and do something about it, so she send me to this boarding school with strict rules and guards. Most of us were trouble children, some headed directly to crime, so it's just a place where they help you find the right path."

"Did it help you?" Genki continued, a little twinkle in her eye, which Wally couldn't quite decipher. It was either entertainment or interest.

"Oh yeah, it helped me loads. I got to see the light, or however people like to put it, and I came out fine in the other end. Except I developed some pretty mean night terrors while I was there. That's just life I suppose."

By the mere mentioning of the word night terror—or maybe it was the word night alone that had done it—Wally let out a small yawn, quickly covering his mouth out of politeness. He hadn't quite noticed during the hectics of suddenly being told his neighbours from across the street would be joining for dinner, just how tired he was. But now his body was starting to remind him in every way it could, by getting heavy beneath him and sending his head swaying lightly while his eyes started weighing down. He had to stay awake, as much as he would like to have just five or ten minutes rest. One, because they had guests, and two, because he knew he would just be awoken by a nightmare involving _her_ again.

* * *

_7pm_

Wilbert carefully guided the guests into the living room after they had all finished eating, and set them around the sofa table where the talking continued. Genki was getting silly and giggly because of the wine, and frankly Kuki liked to see her like this for a change. She was always so serious and seemingly uptight about everything, maybe because she was the CEO of a big company and suddenly her bossy personality had become her dominant personality.

"Wally dear, would you help me clear the table?" Kayla asked, a bit of a giggle to her voice because of her minor intoxication.

"Sure mum." Wally answered shortly, getting up while still trying to shake the tiredness off of his body, then he walked to his mother's side, stacking plates and cutlery.

He let his mother start cleansing it under the running hot water while collecting the glasses, and then he took a tea towel while getting up the plastic rag for finished dishes, so he could wipe them dry. His mother started humming playfully while swaying a bit back and forth, her mind focusing on cleaning the dishes. Otherwise all Wally could hear was the conversations from the living room and the giggling of a girl who had preoccupied herself with admiring Joey—or that's what it sounded like at least.

"Why'd you tell them I went to boarding school?" Wally asked suddenly, unable to hold his tongue any longer. It had been nagging him for a while, probably because he'd found, that when he occupied his mind with his mother's lie he wouldn't feel as tired.

"It seemed like an easy option at the time. What else was I supposed to say, that you had been kidnapped?"

"No. I guess I just got surprised you at least didn't tell me about it first, or made up something other than a boarding school for troubled kids."

"The part about it being for troubled kids was something you made up, Wallabee, not me. But fine, next time I'll just say you're at a rehabilitation center instead if you like that idea better."

Wally felt as though a stone had been tossed at his stomach and had broken right through to his intestines by those words. It made everything within him tear apart just to be pulled down by gravity, and he looked to his mother with tears burning behind his eyes and his voice groggy with hurt.

"You don't… You don't think there's actually going to be a next time; do you?"

He tried to imagine ending up in a place like that again. A place where he'd have to swallow his food without chewing if he wanted just something to eat. A place where survival was a daily task because each guy was stronger than the next, and they all needed to fight to determine who was the more dominant, and who was in charge. A place where people would pick on him and kick him down because he had vowed to himself not to fight, so he would be passed around like a meaningless piece of flesh if he was lucky. If he was unlucky, he might get killed if he ever ended in a place like that again. He didn't want to go back, didn't want to think about it. He had even already made a plan that seemed so solid in his head, but thinking about it now it might actually not be. And who actually knew who the 'right' friends were when it came down to it anyways?

"I mean," he continued, unable to stop the tears from coming. "I'm not that bad. Am I?"

Kayla put her hands to her lips while tears of her own started streaming down her cheeks, as she watched her son's head hanging low, and the tea towel swaying sloppily from his hand. It was like she could sense his hurt more than see it, all because she had been so insensible as to say something like 'next time'. There was no next time, she already knew that, and even though she felt her son also had a good idea he wouldn't want there to be a next time either, it would probably not hurt to encourage him and cheer him on, rather than hinting—however unintentional—that he would fall in bad company once more.

"Of course not." She sobbed, hugging him tightly into her while stroking his hair—long since cut into his usual thin bowl cut—carefully. "And I'm sorry for saying something horrible like that, honey, I didn't mean it. You are not bad at all."

"Yes I am." He whispered invisibly to himself. "I'm a monster."

"Do you need any help?" A chirpy voice sounded from the entranceway to the kitchen, making Wally and his mother part to dry their tears before facing the oldest of the Sanban's daughters.

"Well," Mrs. Beetles stated, sobbing carefully. "We just finished the dishes, but if you want you can help Wally set the table for dessert."

Kuki gave a small bob with her head while a wide smile spread across her lips. If there was one thing she loved more than eating yummy food at dinner parties, it was getting dessert at dinner parties.

"Okay." Kuki sang, while skipping to Wally's side and waving at Mrs. Beetles as she exited the kitchen.

She observed as Wally started putting away the tea towels and plastic rag they had used, while shuffling her feet a little nervously. Mostly because it felt weird just standing here doing nothing. He must have noticed her discomfort though, because not long went by before he spoke.

"Plates are in the top cupboard, the one closest to our fridge." He muttered. "I think we're having ice cream or something, so just take the small deep glass ones."

"Okay." She murmured, opening the cupboard and standing on her tippy-toes, reaching up for the small bowls.

She carefully took them to the table, no more than four at once, but when she went to take four more she found that Wally had already taken them and closed the cupboard after him. She felt like thanking him, or at least saying something, but instead she settled with setting the table in silence, the occasional _clink_ of glass bowls hitting each other the only sound.

"So." Wally broke the silence a little awkwardly. "My mum told me you're going to the high school I'll be starting at, which means you're attending Garfield Heights?"

"Ah, yes." She replied, almost a little too eagerly.

"Go bulldogs." He snickered, earning a chuckle from her. "Is it nice there?"

"It's okay." Kuki shrugged, running her fingers along the back of a chair while looking him in the eyes. "I guess it's a pretty ordinary high school."

"Nice class mates?"

"Yeah, many of the students there seem really nice, though I wouldn't know personally. I do think I'm in some sort of crowd though."

"Oh yeah?" He chuckled a little at the thought of her being in a crowd, mostly because he co-related it to gangs with leather jackets.

"Yeah. There are six of us with me included. They're pretty nice all of them, I should introduce you, it might be nice knowing a few people here and there."

"Sounds good. What are their names?" He hoped it wouldn't sound too pushy or too desperate, but Kuki seemed like a nice girl who didn't get into trouble, so any crowd of friends she hung with hopefully couldn't be half bad—hopefully.

"Well. There's Nigel Uno who's on the soccer team. His parents moved here from Britain when he was two or something. Then there's Hoagie Gilligan, he's a pretty decent guy. Really into inventing and such, but his jokes could be better. Then there's Abigail Lincoln, but you'll be wise to call her Abby. She's pretty leaned back and kind of like an older sister. Always so mature and ready with advise if you need any, and if she feels you won't abuse her kindness of course.

"Then there's Rachel McKenzie. I don't know a whole lot about her because we're not in that many classes together, her and Abby are though. So we do hang out every now and again, and she seems like a really sweet girl. And then there's Amber Stanton, she's one of my closest friends, mainly because we have so many classes together, and we just kind of clicked. You know how it goes."

"Huh…" Wally chewed, liking the sound of Kuki's friends even more. They sounded like a decent bunch and he found he really wouldn't mind getting to know them. Maybe he could even ask the Nigel guy if the soccer coach might bend a little and let him try out to join, even though he was a bit late.

"Do you know which language you have?" Kuki asked curiously, taking the four spoons Wally offered her.

"Spanish."

"Hey, we'll probably be in the same class for Spanish then!" Kuki exclaimed excitedly. "I know I'm in homeroom B, as they call it. What about you?"

"I think I'm in D." Wally said thoughtfully.

"If you are we definitely will have both Spanish and PE together."

"Sounds neat." Wally ginned. "So. You were talking about this Nigel guy being on the soccer team, and I guess it just got me thinking if you're a cheerleader or something?"

"Me? Oh no. I mean I tired out and got on the team, but there were three girls especially who kind of just ruined it for me, so I left and decided to join the gymnastics team instead."

"Couldn't you just have spoken to your coach about them?" Wally wondered out loud.

"Cheer leading wasn't that overly important to me. I just liked the idea of doing something that had to do with agility, so I'm not upset about it."

"Do you know if the soccer coach might take in new recruits?" He hoped she knew the answer, but he wouldn't be upset if she didn't. After all he could as well just ask the coach himself.

"Well…" Kuki started, almost crushing Wally's small rays of hope. "He's usually a pretty strict guy I hear, but I think he could be convinced. Why?"

"I guess I'd just like to play." Wally shrugged, stepping over to her side. "Can I ask you something?"

"You've been asking questions all this time." She giggled. "Go ahead."

"So, ehm… Since I'm kind of unsure about it, do you think you could show me to where the bus goes from tomorrow?" She started giggling warmheartedly which didn't exactly make Wally feel any less embarrassed than he already felt.

"Of course silly. I mean I _do_ live right across of the street and we _do_ go to the same high school. We can go together every day if you want."

"Oh." He chuckled a little nervously, feeling like drop kicking himself over a fence for asking a pointless question like that. "Sure, thank you."

"No problem. Moving onto proper introductions. I'm Kuki Sanban, pleasure to meet you." She smiled while showing her hand to him.

"Wally Beetles" He replied, shaking her hand firmly.

"Also, if you need me to show you around the school a little so you won't get lost, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you." He grinned, feeling her smile infect him.

* * *

**2013 Rewrite. Originally written between October 21st 2010 - March 31st 2011. I hope you enjoyed this rewrite.**

**Criticism and/or advices on improvement is/are highly appreciated and welcome :)**

**~*~TippierCoffee~*~**


	4. First day

**Author: TippierCoffee**

**Disclaimer: I do not own—nor do I claim the rights to—any of the characters from the show **_**Codename: Kids Next Door**_**. All credit goes to rightful owner: Mr. Tom Warburton.**

**LTLY series: 1. Learning To Love You; 2. Again; 3. Alone; 4. Ever After.**

**OBS: I gave Wally's parents names. Mum: Kayla Beetles, dad: Wilbert Beetles.**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

First day.

_Monday September 4th, 8am._

_He stood in front of the doors that would lead into the hallways of the school. The building seemed to tower over him, and he found he grabbed the straps of his bag back as a form of reinsurance that everything would be all right, and nothing bad was going to happen. He could hear his heart pound heavily in his chest, and his hands trembled ever so lightly, with a deep breath he swallowed his nervousness and entered the school._

_He walked with unsteady steps feeling a tiny bit lost, his footsteps echoing in the empty hallways. He looked around curiously and uncertain, confusion creeping into him and sending him even more on edge. He couldn't quite understand why no one was here. Maybe they had a day off or something, but that also didn't make much sense. He had definitely come in the bus with Kuki—at least he thought he had. Though, thinking about it, he couldn't quite recall the ride, and she had disappeared somewhere much to his confusion. He didn't understand girls, never would. But she had promised she'd show him to class and such, so why was it that she was gone all of sudden; bounced off to God knows where?_

_He came to a halt in front of a door with a large uppercase D written on it in thick black marker; for a moment he stood staring at the door his nerves crawling out onto his clothes. He swallowed hard and tiredly shook them off, before taking one last deep inhale and opening the door._

_Everything went quiet as he stepped into the room, and all eyes were turned to him, a few of the girls started whispering between each other, and even though he for some reason couldn't see their faces, and only saw them as silhouettes, he could sense their stares at him; their sneers and lips pursed in disgust. He shuffled a little closer uncertainly, trying to at least introduce himself, but for some reason his mouth wouldn't obey him and let him speak. It was like it was being held shut by a pair of strong, invisible hands._

"_I knew something was off about your situation when we got told about you." A guy sneered in a deep voice, suddenly stepping out of the circle dragging a body with him. Her body. "You're nothing but a rotten murder."_

_Wally stepped a little backward as the guy tossed her body to the ground in front of him, her head falling off as she made impact with the floor, and every single student in the class started whispering loudly between each other._

_Murder, monster, freak, disgusting. Rot in hell, burn alive, kill yourself, hope you die._

_He felt his knees give away under him sending him hard to the floor, every single student circling him. Amongst the mass of silhouettes there was one face her knew; Kuki's face. Tears were glassing her eyes and her lips quivered while she held her knitted hands to her heart._

"_Wally? Is it true, did you do this?" Kuki asked, her voice shaking as heavily as her body. She was scared._

"_I…" He couldn't get himself to say it, it wasn't like that, they didn't understand anything. Not the threat he'd had over his head if he didn't… But he hadn't done anything, and they had never found out, yet she was there because of him._

"_You promised." Came a whisper from the head as it came rolling toward him, eyes turned white and skin colour almost blue. "You Promised!"_

"Wally?!" A pair of hands shook him gently awake, though he felt like he was having a heart attack.

He felt disorientated and confused for a moment, looking in every possible direction to make sense of anything. He was in a bus full of people, the scent of the worn-out leather seats mixing with different body odors and the occasional waft of crisps. He looked to his left, away from the window, and met a pair of autumn coloured eyes glimmering with worry and a smile.

"It looked like you were having a nightmare." Kuki said concerned, her eyebrows raising with care.

"Yeah, sorry I just.. Didn't sleep that much, don't worry about it." He answered groggily, rubbing his eyes.

"I hope you won't be too tired today, it's your first day. It would be sad if you started falling asleep all the time, especially if you're having bad dreams." Kuki chewed nervously.

"Yeah. You don't need to worry about it, it's just my cruddy imagination hating me."

"Come on." She giggled, standing up when the bus had finally emptied out. "We'll be late if we keep sitting here."

He gave a her a little smile before standing up himself and following closely behind her as they stepped out of the bus. He heard her encouraging the driver to have a nice day before stepping out, though his mind was a bit preoccupied looking at the school grounds. They were just as he had seen them in his dream—probably because he had been to Garfield Height's website and seen how it looked the day before—which for some reason made him feel anxious and lost.

Although, unlike in his dream, the school ground was swarming with people greeting each other and stepping inside the school so they wouldn't be late for class, which would be staring in five minutes. It did make him feel a bit at ease, though at the same time his head was spinning and screaming at him, almost as if a part of his mind had decided that his dream had been some sort of prophecy and he should therefore run away now rather than later.

He followed Kuki in the doors, telling her which locker he had gotten, which made her overly excited because it was the locker right next to hers. So she took a hold of his hand, seemingly without thinking too much about it, and started skipping with him walking fast behind her, his hand just resting in hers without him giving any effort to squeeze back. He guessed he could get used to the idea of Kuki being touchy, that didn't mean he was about to just randomly hug her in the middle of the hallway. Despite everything he hardly knew her when it came down to it, although he did seem to get along with her, and something about her seemed familiar.

Not in the way some guys would make it up to get into a girl's pants, but something that legitimately was there nagging at the back of his mind. For every single habit or emotion she showed him, the feeling of familiarity grew just a little, but maybe it was just him looking too much into things and misinterpreting the feeling of being safe around someone.

After giving him a fast shallow tour of the school, pointing to the direction of the restrooms and the cafeteria, Kuki turned on her heel about to go to her own class but Wally stopped her in her tracks.

"Wait." He breath out. She turned her head with a little smile.

"Nani?"

"What does that mean?" He asked baffled, forgetting his original question for a moment.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Kuki giggle, shaking her head a little. "It means what in Japanese."

"Oh. Erm… I just." He kicked the ground a little, feeling a bit embarrassed for being so helplessly lost. "Would you mind showing me to my homeroom?"

"Silly me." She knocked herself softly on top of her head. "Of course, it's this way."

He followed her until they were in front of an ordinary-looking oak door, then he gave her a little smile and a _thanks_ before watching her skip away while humming a tune, that sounded just like that dreaded jingle from the Rainbow monkey show. He took a deep inhale emptying the last forecasting thoughts out of his mind, then he entered the class room and looked around a little insecurely—although he tired not to let it show.

A few of the students turned their eyes to look at him curiously while he settled to stand in front of the teacher's desk, looking out to the classroom. He wasn't really sure where he could sit and where he couldn't; he didn't know anyone in this class, and even though he wasn't blind to meet new people it probably would have been nice if Kuki had been in the same homeroom as him. At least there would be someone he knew.

"You must be the new guy." A bald guy said as he stepped up to Wally. "My name is Nigel Uno, I'm the class representative, a pleasure to meet you."

Nigel stuck his hand out firmly, making Wally feel a bit on edge by the God given authority Nigel seemed to posses. He was also desperately trying to hold in a snicker that would seem rude to let out, when he thought about the odds of meeting one of Kuki's friends right away.

"Wally Beetles." Wally introduced himself, shaking the taller teen's hand as firmly as he could. "Any seats open down there?"

"I think." Nigel looked to the class, holding a hand to his chin. "I think there's a free spot besides Muffi Jenkins." He gave a short nod toward a pretty-looking girl. "Her, or Hoagie Gilligan. A fair warning though. Hoagie likes to tell jokes, and they're typically not very good."

"Hey, I heard that." A guy with brown hair called to Nigel, getting up to stand beside him. He was even taller than Nigel—if only by five centimeters—and standing in front of them made Wally feel a bit small in comparison. Not that he would ever let his height bother him again, he knew better than to repeat mistakes like that.

"My name is Hoagie." Hoagie said, shooting his hand out playfully, and shaking Wally's a little too violently. "Just like the sandwich; just getting ahead of you here."

"I wasn't going to—" Wally started, wanting to defend himself, although he might have probably ended up asking if it was spelled like the sandwich.

"What did you say your last name was?" Hoagie asked, his easy-going smile not leaving his lips.

"Beetles."

"Beetles. Like the band the Beatles, or like the little crawly ones?"

"The little crawly ones." Wally chuckled, liking this guy for some reason. Although at an earlier age Wally would have punched this guy square in the face for asking something like that.

"The beetle and the hoagie." Hoagie snickered to himself. "Sounds like a funny story. I'd read it anyways."

"If anyone ever wrote a story like that I'd probably punch them." Wally cackled, earning himself a bit of a stare from the two. "Metaphorically of course."

"Well. Unless you want to listen to girl-talk and giggling all the time, I suggest you have a seat next to me before I do." Hoagie let out a snort which quickly turned into a laughter, and Wally found he shook his head with a smile upon his face.

So he could pretty much choose between gossip or bad puns. It seemed like an unfair 'competition' and bad puns won hands down; so he thanked Nigel for his kindness and followed Hoagie to his table. Didn't take him long to figure out Hoagie wasn't just the pun-guy who liked inventions and science, he was also extremely talkative most of the time. Easy going and with a smile constantly there. Two for five, Kuki's friends really did seem like a nice bunch so far.

* * *

_12pm_

Lunch bell had never felt like such a salvation before, mostly because Wally had felt like people had been staring too much at him throughout the day so far. Sure, he got it; he was the new kid, which automatically made him overly interesting for some. But he had never been good with having a lot of eyes on him, and especially after everything that had happened to him in the past he just didn't like getting attention a whole lot. However, he guessed it couldn't really be helped, so he just quietly followed Hoagie and Nigel who were chatting and laughing about something, that seemed to be some sort of intimate inside joke.

He followed them to the lunch queue and tried to decide who to listen to more as Nigel and Hoagie told him what was good and what wasn't. Which in itself wasn't exactly something he minded them doing, it would just be a lot easier if they didn't have the exact opposite opinions. In the end he ended up just grabbing something that looked like something he would like, and then he followed the two of them to a table where a couple of other teens were already seated.

He only recognized Kuki out of the four people sitting there, and he did feel a little better when she waved him over to sit between her and a girl with orange hair that held a blonde hue to it. He gratefully stepped over and seated himself next to her, right across of a girl with ebony skin, black hair, and chocolate eyes that got a bit of an orange shimmer when the light hit them.

There was also another girl with blonde hair that ended just above her shoulders, whose eyes were a hazel coolur. She was sitting and sipping an orange juice while nodding to the other two guys, before curiously turning her attention to Wally. He gave a short wave to the ebony and blonde girl across of him, who both looked kind of confused and curious.

"My name is Wally." He spoke. "Wally Beetles. I live across the street from Kuki and I'm in the same homeroom as Nigel and Hoagie."

"Ah, I see." The blonde girl exclaimed, taking another long sip of her juice.

"Well." The ebony girl spoke, playing a bit with her braid. "Nice to make your acquaintance, my name's Abby. This is Rachel." She jotted her thumb to the blonde girl. "And that's Amber."

"So you're the older son of that odd couple, who were also really nice." Amber beamed. "I knew I was right about you."

"First of all:" Wally said, looking at her a little confused, "that 'odd couple' are my parents. Second of all: what in the world are you talking about?"

"Well." Amber chewed. "I said to Kuki, after we helped your parents out a bit and had gone back to Kuki's, that I bet you were hot, and here you are." She giggled a little which made Wally snort while shaking his head with a smile. Whether it was out of nervousness or amusement he wasn't entirely sure.

"Are you always this straight forward?" He asked, chuckling to himself.

"Only to people I have a feeling can take it, and you seem like one of those. Also, holy God your eyes are delicious; I just want to stare at them forever. Although I had hoped you were taller, but I guess you can't get everything you want."

"Don't mind Amber." Rachel spoke at last, her voice calm and with an almost identical authority to it as Nigel's voice. "She is always kind of silly, and if you want to know celebrity gossip she's the one to go to."

"Well duh." Amber teased, sticking her tongue out. "It's important to keep up with your potential future spouses."

"Ah you're one of those." Wally muttered in amusement. "And do any of your so-called 'future celebrity spouses' actually know about you?"

"They will; in due time. Don't you worry about that, I have a few ideas how to come into their lives and wow them."

"You're not saying." Wally joked, stuffing his face as politely as he could. "Honestly though, and this is not to be a complete douche, I think your chances of meeting a celebrity and actually become their girlfriend is about as big as my chances to get a job voice acting for Captain Yipper."

"You know Captain Yipper?" Hoagie blurt out, half a smile to his surprised face.

"Mate, who doesn't know Captain Yipper? He was one of my childhood heroes. I think I still have a deck of cards I saved for nostalgic reasons laying around somewhere."

"You are joking!" Hoagie practically screamed, fighting an urge to bounce up and down like a little school boy. "I bet you my battalion can beat yours."

"Oh yeah?" Wally chuckled, looking to the overly enthusiastic boy. "I'll tell you when I find my deck then, and make you eat those words."

"I would never have guessed you to be a Captain Yipper fan." Hoagie continued, his mood brightening beyond imagination.

"There are a lot of things you may never really guess about me sandwich." Wally joked.

"Like what cockroach?" Hoagie gave again, making Wally burst out laughing. Partly because he actually found it funny, and partly because it was so surrealistic having someone insult him—even in good fun—without fearing what he might do to them.

"You found that funny?" Hoagie and Abby asked in unison. Abby with disbelief in her rasp voice, and Hoagie with hope in his childish one.

"Hilarious." Wally chuckled. "I like you sandwich Gilligan."

"Jr." Hoagie corrected. "Sandwich Gilligan would be my father."

"Your dad is a sandwich?" Wally kid.

"Only the tastiest sandwich ever made."

The two guys started laughing together, shortly joined by a few of the others, and Kuki found her mood brightened as she looked at her friends making friends with a new friend of hers. Well she felt like Wally was a friend, even if he might not be thinking in the same way about her as of yet.

* * *

**2013 Rewrite. Originally written between October 21st 2010 - March 31st 2011. I hope you enjoyed this rewrite.**

**Criticism and/or advices on improvement is/are highly appreciated and welcome :)**

**~*~TippierCoffee~*~**


	5. Tryout

**Author: TippierCoffee**

**Disclaimer: I do not own—nor do I claim the rights to—any of the characters from the show **_**Codename: Kids Next Door**_**. All credit goes to rightful owner: Mr. Tom Warburton.**

**LTLY series: 1. Learning To Love You; 2. Again; 3. Alone; 4. Ever After.**

**OBS: I gave Wally's parents names. Mum: Kayla Beetles, dad: Wilbert Beetles.**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

Tryout.

_Monday September 4th, 4pm._

He heaved in heavily while walking out to the courtyard ahead of his new friends—he guess he would call them friends. He felt the breeze tickle against his skin and closed his eyes with a little smile upon his face, while inhaling even deeper than before. Fresh air felt so good, and even though his somewhat guilty pleasure hadn't been easily accessible where he had just been, good behaviour had proved to pay off. He just needed one, that was all; it was also the reason why he had gone ahead of his friends to reach outside of the school grounds. He didn't exactly like the idea of all of them knowing, Then again, he had heard them talking about whether they should take the bus together or not.

Kuki was the only one who was going to walk because both Rachel and Abby were in a hurry, so come to think about it they might have already taken off ahead of him. He wasn't really sure what Nigel and Hoagie were doing though, he hadn't been paying attention when they'd talked about it, because he'd just been eager to get out so he could have one. Just one.

He slung his bag pack over, so it hung on his left shoulder only, and then he fished around in the front pocket for the prized rectangular object that held what he sought. True fresh air.

"_You know you want to." A dark voice said in Wally's head, sending a flash of a face past his eyes._

_Dark brown hair, so dark that it looked almost black, and deep brown eyes, whose darkness made Wally think of bottomless wells. Known by the name Kris, though his full name was Kristopher._

"_It helps with the nerves after all, you know that." Kris said, letting out a cackle. "It's just this one, I promise. Come on Beetles."_

_In his mind Wally saw how Kris lit up a paper for himself, then offered one to him. He could remember how he had felt doubtful, like this was a bad idea, but something within him knew. If he said no he would be called a pussy or something, and he kind of disliked the idea of being teased, so he accepted the priced paper and shoved it into his mouth._

_Carefully he inhaled and felt the toxic coat his tongue for the first time, which send him coughing and spitting, which in turn made Kris laugh his head off in hysteria._

"_You're not supposed to swallow it you idiot!" He snorted, holding his hands to his stomach. "You need to blow out again, like this."_

_Kris effortlessly put his paper to his lips and inhaled, then opened his mouth in a weird o-shape while exhaling, fumes sneaking out of his mouth and nose. Wally looked doubtfully at the object between his fingers, then mimicked Kris carefully, and although he still found that this poison did not taste good at all he also found he kept inhaling and exhaling until the paper had burned out. But it was only this once. Maybe…_

"Wally wait up!" Kuki's voice came from behind, causing Wally to let go of the object he had just locked his hand softly around, and quickly zip his bag pack again before slinging it over his shoulder. "Do you want to walk home together?"

"You're not walking with Amber?" He turned his head a little and gave her a small smile.

"Her dad came and surprised her, he's often working overseas, so she went home with him."

"Cool, we can walk together." He itched his thumb against his index and middle finger while they walked by, thinking to himself that he could wait until he came home, it wasn't like his life depended on whether or not he had one—not really anyways.

"How was first day?" Kuki asked, sending Wally a sweet smile.

"It was okay, though there are so many people and they all suddenly want to know you. It's like you're expected to tell everyone everything about yourself, but no one really tells you about them." This made Kuki giggle which made her eyes light up.

"But you seemed to get along okay with my friends." She stated.

"Yeah, they were pretty cool. I liked them." Wally admitted. "I'm sure if Hoagie and Nigel hadn't been in the same homeroom as me, and you'd seen me in the cafeteria all alone you would have waved me over."

"How would you know that." Wally gave her a little shrug while ruffling his hair.

"Call it a gut feeling." He mumbled. "Anyways, I owe you a thanks, or something. So thanks, for helping me settle in; and stuff."

"You're welcome." Kuki smiled, padding his shoulder lightly in a playful manner. Any other girl at Wally's previous school would probably never have done that, because. Well, there were many reasons really.

"Where'd you live before you came here to Cleveland then?" Kuki asked, curiosity gracing her innocent face.

"Well." Wally sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets. "My family moved from Australia when I was about three-and-a-half-years-old. We moved to Cleveland first, but when I was around thirteen my old man got transferred to Lincoln, Nebraska, so we had to move.

"Things didn't exactly go well there. I was agitated all the time and punched a bunch of people, and got into too many fights. Hello boarding school. I guess my parents spoke while I was there, and they decided I was happier in Cleveland, so my pop took his old position back and we came back here.

"What about you?"

"My family and I moved from Japan, also when I was about three-and-a-half-years-old, and I've been living here ever since. I went to middle school with all of my friends, except for Amber. I feel pretty lucky we all ended up at the same high school, because we have pretty close bonds."

"Cruddy lucky. I like making friends, and I'm not exactly bad at it, I guess it's just a bit more difficult coming in almost a month after official start, because everyone has started making connections already, and you have to find someone you sort 'a get along with."

"Lucky you have me." Kuki giggled, making Wally chuckle a little nervously while scratching the back of his neck.

"Because that didn't sound cocky at all." He joked, owning a little shove from her, which he returned by softly bumping his shoulder into hers—which he had never done to anyone before.

For a while they just walked like that, shoulder to shoulder; literally. Which was an all new experience to Wally, and he found himself half wishing he could read Kuki's mind, or step into her memories somehow, maybe see how many she had done this to before. She had been nothing but touchy-feely around him, and even though a part of him felt thrilled about the potential of a girl he got along with flirting with him, he wasn't entirely sure that was what she was doing. Not because of the innocence that shimmered clearly in her eyes, or the carefree actions she possessed—like nothing in the world would ever bother her—but because he had a feeling she was just that kind of person who loved hugging.

Another one of those weird gut feelings he found he was getting when around her, like he knew a whole lot about her already when he didn't. It seemed ridiculous that his mind seemed desperate to find a connection with, not only Kuki, but Hoagie, Abby and Nigel that he didn't have. But it was especially when he was around Kuki, and maybe it was just because he missed friends he felt like he could fully trust, and even though they had only know each other for about eight hours, those four especially seemed like people Wally could trust. Maybe not right now, but in the future when he had gotten to know them a little better.

"Do you call that kicking?!" An angry yell came from their left, and Wally cocked his head a little, only to see the field full of players. "I have seen rabbits kick harder than that!"

"Wait, there's soccer practice today?" Wally wondered out loud.

"Yeah, didn't you hear Hoagie and Nigel talk about it earlier? When we talked about going home together, they both declined because of practice."

"I sort of spaced out." Wally admitted, scratching his neck a little. "Do you think the coach will be overly pissed if I try and step in now to try out?"

"Probably not." Kuki smiled, then her lips turned down a bit until they formed a small frown.

Wally looked to her with a bit of concern, not really knowing what to do or what to say. He wasn't exactly good at this kind of stuff, he never had been. Somehow he ended up just looking at his shoes like a complete dumb ass, then he kicked around some invisible dirt, burying his hands deeper into his pockets, before looking up to Kuki who just kind of shuffled in front of him. She had her left side to him, facing the field, but most of all she kind of looked like someone who wanted to turn around completely and ask him something. But instead she ended up saying something else.

"I guess I should head home then." Kuki smiled, giving half a wave to Wally, before turning softly on her heels. He watched her as she started walking, inwardly screaming to himself that he should ask her to sit and watch or something, but it felt like such a stupid and pointless thing to ask for some reason. Yet, watching her fade away slowly, and with her head hanging low, made him feel guilty and stupid for not asking.

* * *

_Tuesday September 12th, 4.25pm_

He could feel his lungs expanding and collapsing heavily while his shorts and T-shirt clung to his sweating chest, making him feel a bit more suffocated as his throat tightened. He heard just as clearly as he felt how his breath came out in shallow rasps, and he heaved every now and again. For twenty five minutes he had been going on and on, tirelessly though not effortlessly, and now everything within him was feeling like dead weight.

Even though he had had to wait for a while, because the field had to empty out before the coach would see him, he felt the wait had been worth it—however anxious it had made him.

"Do you call that running Beetles?!" the coach screamed at the top of his lungs, keeping a close eye on him.

He started running along with Wally, surpassing him, and soon Wally found it was getting hard to keep up with the coach. All muscle and all intend, his veins popping out of his throat, or so it seemed because they were becoming overly visible.

"Double pace Beetles!" Wally sped up even though he could feel his legs falling heavily below him, weighing him down like cement and he started wheezing rather than breathing.

Every obstacle where he had to speed up, or lift his knees high seemed to take every single fiber of his body, every single ounce of whatever energy his body had left in it. Whenever he had to drop for push-ups he found his shoulders stung more by each passing moment, but not half as badly as his lungs which were assured to kill him soon if they kept submerging themselves under a heavy weight like they were now.

Everything was aching and screaming, reminding him of his former good shape and making him feel somewhat depressed that he had fallen so low after everything. He knew he hadn't moved a lot and mostly stayed away from heavy lifting as he knew there would mostly be over sized men in there, ready to beat him to a pulp because he was nothing but a pussy or a bitch, or whatever word they decided to call him this time.

"My grandmother keeps up better than you Beetles!" coach yelled, and Wally found he wished the coach would stop calling him Beetles. It made him have continuous flashes of a past he desperately wished didn't exist.

"_Beetles." Kris sneered, evil sneaking into his empty eyes, while he fished out a gun redying to load it. "If you bail on us now, I promise you, your brother's head will fall. Got it?"_

_Wally nodded frantically, feeling tears spring to his eyes while his heart hammered in his ears. Most of all he wished he could just punch Kris, but he wasn't dumb. Kris did, after all, know where he lived, and he would do more than just shoot his brother if Wally betrayed him now._

* * *

_5pm._

"I've got to say Beetles." The coach addressed him. "I can see some real potential in you, but you really need to work on your stamina a lot. I have never seen anyone lose breath that quickly ever since an asthmatic got onto the team, just to become one of my star players.

"I need to ask just to be sure though. Are you an asthmatic or a smoker? Or maybe you just have a bad stamina in general which needs a lot of polishing?"

"I…" Wally scratched the back of his neck nervously, knowing the coach probably wouldn't take lightly to his answer.

From the top row of the piers Kuki looked out onto the field which was empty save for Wally talking closely to the coach. He shot his arms out carefully with his palms up, which made her crease her brow in worry. Something looked like it wasn't completely right, and Wally had to defend why he should be allowed on the team even though he had kept up with everything the coach had tossed at him so far.

She felt herself smile affectionately about the day before, where Wally had come dashing in her direction to catch up to her after having left her to walk home on her own. She had been sad, but on the other hand she also didn't want to bother him with her presence or make it seem like she had to follow him wherever he went; but it had made her happy to see how of breath he was after catching up to her. Not because she liked the idea of him hardly being able to breathe—goodness no—but because it helped her realize he actually did care for her as a friend, if nothing else then in his own little way.

He had told her breathlessly, and with a smile on his face, how he had been allowed to come today at four pm and try out, and she had been so excited she had hugged him, just because. She snickered a littler to herself with a bit of a frown when she recalled how he had gently pushed her off and told her, that he got the impression she was a bit touchy-feely around the people she considered her friends—or maybe it was just anyone really—but he wasn't exactly a touchy guy. He didn't mind that she was this kind of person, he had told her, though he had asked her if maybe she could consider not hugging him yet, because it felt a little weird to him to have a girl he hardly knew, do such a thing. Maybe he found it a tad too intimate because he was quite reserved? He seemed a bit like the reserved type, though not a lot, there was a lot more to him than that.

She was brought back to the presence by Wally's figure jogging across the field, while looking up to her with a little smile, then he gave her a wave as if calling her down with no words. Her own smile returned as she stood up, brushing off her black jeans, and walked down to meet him.

"How did it go?" She asked, her smile remaining and a subtle excitement in her voice.

"Well, other than my stamina sucking it went okay. Coach said I'd have to train hard and long before he even considers putting me into a game, but he would put me on second-string for now, at the bottom of his little hierarchy. Just got to work my way up I suppose."

"But you worked so hard!" Kuki moaned. "From what I could see you really kept up." She observed as Wally took a swing of water before looking to her.

"I could have done a thousand times better, I know I could, and I guess the coach can sense it. Just got to get my cruddy act together."

"I hope you'll make it." Kuki wondered out loud.

"Of course I will; I'm Wallabee Beetles! I always cruddy make it. Somehow."

"Wallabee?" Kuki giggled, holding a hand to her lips, which caused Wally to turn as red as a tomato.

"I, err… Please don't tell anyone." This statement just made Kuki giggle even more, while she kept following him as far as she could.

"This is where I get off." Wally chuckled, pushing the doors to the locker room open. "Not really keen on stripping in front of you. You going home, or?"

"I'll wait for you in front of the school's entrance." She smiled. "It's lonely walking on my own."

* * *

A gentle breeze beat against their faces while the sun teased their skin. Kids ran around on the streets yelling at each other and getting a last chance to have a water gun fight before their parents would call them in for dinner. One of the young boys playing with a group of friends accidentally bumped into Wally when he wasn't watching his steps because he was too busy aiming. This resulted in the small boy falling to his buttocks with an embarrassed blush upon his face.

"Woah there." Wally teased, helping the boy back up again. Although the reaction of the by kind of did give him a minor set-back.

"Watch it teen!" Not exactly what Wally had expected, but it did make Kuki giggle.

"What's so funny?" Wally muttered.

"Just that you're a teen, apparently." Kuki giggled.

"And you're not?" He asked, bumping his shoulder into hers for reasons unknown to him.

"I'll have to check my birth certificate to tell you for sure." She teased back, walking along with him as they left behind the group of kids who were all now making barfing sounds.

"Guessing they don't like teens." Wally concluded, although Kuki's comment about her birth certificate had made him laugh a little.

"Maybe they don't like teens because we all care so much about love. Consider their reaction when we started joking around."

"Cruddy kids" Wally muttered. "Not like we're all kissy-faced and obsessed with lurve." He stuck out his tongue while flaring his arms around, which made Kuki laugh in amusement.

Wally couldn't help but partly feel embarrassed by her reaction or his own childishness. He didn't exactly know why, but he wasn't exactly hooked on the idea of sucking face with some girl while sharing feelings and exchanging spit. It made him feel a bit unnerved, and he wasn't exactly sure about whether or not he would call it anxiousness around being with a girl, but he definitely had never really thought a lot about it, and whenever he had he had had the strangest feeling inside of him.

His heart sinking and his head spinning, while he felt his breath becoming heavy as depression overrode his mind. Almost as though he already had a girlfriend somewhere, or had had one whom he was still deeply in love with. Or maybe he really was just a bit nervous about the aspect of sharing himself with a girl.

Even being with Kuki the way he was now, getting close enough to maybe actually consider her his friend, was unnerving to him. Like a part of him was scared he would relapse into bad behaviour and end up hurting the acquaintances he'd made, but as long as he didn't actually consider them friends it might be okay. They might be a little safer from whatever the future held for him.

He found it was disheartening not even being able to trust himself, so he couldn't really see anyone else trusting him, and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted them to. Although his mother had told him he used to be one of those boys who were often misunderstood as rough bully types, apparently he had also been the kind of person who would go to the end of the world protecting his friends. Friends he couldn't even remember having, and even if he could it wouldn't have mattered much because he had been ripped away from them when his parents moved. Also, they would definitely not ever get close to him again if they knew.

"This is where I get off." Kuki teased when they were in front of her house, and Wally realized he had been spacing out for at least one minute.

"Sorry, spaced out." He muttered. "And sorry about leaving you like that yesterday."

"It's okay." Kuki giggled sweetly. "You did catch up to me after the coach said you could try out today at four pm."

"Yeah. Also, sorry if you were bored watching me today."

"You don't have to apologize to me about that. I decided to stay on my own, it's more fun walking home with you."

"What do you mean?" Wally asked, feeling a bit unnerved about opening up too much. If he let her in too much, she would probably leave him, and no matter how much he felt like denying it to himself, he actually really liked hanging out with Kuki.

"That's what friends are for." She just simply stated, sending him that sweet smile of hers.

"Friends?" He wasn't sure about how to feel about this. Part of him felt extremely happy that Kuki saw him as a friend, but he was also scared about being seen like that by her. Even though he didn't exactly see Kuki or her friends ending him in bad situations, he was still scared to trust. "We're friends?"

"I'd hope so." Kuki shuffled. "Unless you don't want to be?"

"Oh, no, I do. Of course. I'd like that." He send her a little smile and pushed her shoulder lightly with his closed fist. "Friends."

_The night felt cold and ruthless, but maybe it was just his own feeling of guilt playing a trick on him. This was what real friends did he'd been told, so why did it feel so wrong? Other than the fact that he was only here to protect the life of his brother, which Kris—a guy claiming to be his best friend—had on the line._

"_Just remember, friend." A dark guy named Cory whispered, placing a hand over Wally's shoulder. "If you hear any sirens, just run as if your life depends on it."_

"_As if?" Another guy by the name if Jeff snorted. "His life _is _going to depend on it you retard."_

"_Hey, shut up!" Kris hissed agitated. "I swear, with all of you yelling like that it won't be the alarms we have to worry about." He went back to skillfully cutting a circle around the tape crossed over each other on top of the window._

_Wally looked from the self-proclaimed leader to his little lapdogs, then he started looking around while feeling how he started to sweat underneath his skin. His breath got caught in his throat and all of his body started subtly trembling below him. Why the hell had he gotten himself involved with these types, and how had he ended up here?_

"_There we go." Kris grinned triumphantly, hitting the spot where the tape crossed over each other inside the circle softly with a small hammer. Then he turned his attention to Wally._

"_Beetles, hide out behind the car over there, make sure to hold this close." He put the cold heavy object into Wally's hands, which started trembling instantly under the weight of the foreign object. "Keep a watch out for anyone and everyone. Remember the signal?"_

_Wally gave a short nod looking to the object in his hands, feeling more nauseous than he could ever remember having felt before. How could he ever forget?_

"_You're a real good friend, Beetles." Kris sneered, making the two others cackle lowly while Wally chuckled nervously before he went to his post._

* * *

**2013 Rewrite. Originally written between October 21st 2010 - March 31st 2011. I hope you enjoyed this rewrite.**

**Criticism and/or advices on improvement is/are highly appreciated and welcome :)**

**~*~TippierCoffee~*~**


	6. First discovery

**Author: TippierCoffee**

**Disclaimer: I do not own—nor do I claim the rights to—any of the characters from the show **_**Codename: Kids Next Door**_**. All credit goes to rightful owner: Mr. Tom Warburton.**

**LTLY series: 1. Learning To Love You; 2. Again; 3. Alone; 4. Ever After.**

**OBS: I gave Wally's parents names. Mum: Kayla Beetles, dad: Wilbert Beetles.**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

First discovery.

_Wednesday September 13th, 2.30pm_

Spanish was one of the classes Wally really enjoyed. Mostly because it was one of the things that had kept him going from where he came from, but also because it was one of the few classes he had with Kuki. He recalled the first day in this class, where he just nonchalantly had walked over to Kuki's side, just to be glared at by Rachel who would usually sit there. When he got up to apologize Rachel had, however, let out a playful laughter and then went to sit by Nigel's side instead, and then Wally had sat down again feeling a bit dumb. Kuki's giggling voice telling him that even though Rachel was a leader type, she could still joke around with people she knew, and Wally was one of those.

"Bien clase." Their teacher called out. "I am sure many of you have probably noticed we're having a bit of a fairytale theme. We read both Caperucita roja and Los tres osos, as well as translating them. However, I want you to do something a bit more dificult now.

"For your own sake, please don't use too complicated words or sentences, try to use what you already know. Keep it short and simple, maximum one and a half page on computer, or maximum three pages in hand.

"Mr. Beetles." Wally looked up to the teacher, an uneasiness rising in him. "Seeing as you're new around here, and seeing as you seem to get along with Ms. Sanban, I suggest maybe the two of you pair up." A few of the other students started howl whistling and laughing, while some guys behind Wally started singing the stupid song about sitting in a tree and kissing.

"Silence." Their teacher called impatiently. "Ten minutes break now, I suggest you use it to pair up with one or two people, and when I come back you all better have partners."

Wally observes while his classmates walked around in search for a partner for the assignment, though it seemed most of them just leaned over to their table partner to make them their assignment partner. The few people who did get up to walk around, and who walked by the table he was seated at with Kuki, started whistling or making kissing noises or sticking their tongues out, mimicking making out.

He could feel his blood starting to circulate his body, pulsating roughly, while everything felt like it was starting to boil inside of him. He hated how all of these people just seemed to assume a lot of things without even knowing. Why did they have to suggest him and Kuki had something going on? Boys and girls could be friends just as well as boys and boys, or girls and girls. Most of all he felt like punching each and every single one of them, and as his anger rose he found it harder and harder to control. He needed air, more than air. He needed to get out, outside of the school grounds so he could feel the toxic spread through his body and put it in a state of calm.

"Hey, I'll go out and clear my head, all these cruddy doofuses are making me irritated." He mumbled to Kuki.

"Okay." She smiled, seemingly completely unaffected by everything going on around her, and for a moment he felt like asking her what she was thinking, how she was feeling, and in general what was going through her head, but he decided against it and went outside.

Walking on the school grounds and observing the many different people was one of the few things Wally found he liked. However weird it was it reminded him of freedom and trust, though every once in a while his eyes would fall on bullies picking on those weaker than themselves, and even though he wished he could do something to protect those being bullied, he knew very well his fists 'spoke' better than his words. He had pledged to himself that he would never fight again, unless absolutely necessary, and he hated feeling mean for not finding this entirely necessary, but he didn't know the bully victims. Stepping in could potentially end up giving him some kind of fan base, or make people interpret it as him being the go-to-guy if you needed protection, which he was not, and he would never be.

He found the nearest bin with an ash tray outside the school ground, and sighed heavily when he saw a few guys already standing there, verbally harassing people who came to close, or claiming that this was 'their spot', and if someone really wanted a trash bin with an ash tray they could happily skedaddle down the street and find one further away.

They seemed to try and be too tough and fit the stereotypes of how a proper gang looked like. All of them wearing leather biker jackets—though the leather was most likely synthetic, and if it wasn't the jackets were most likely stolen—and their hair either spiked of greased backwards. Probably not the guys who were too shy to get into fist fights, but they relied solely on attitude and number, and most of what they said was probably all in their mouths. If Wally guessed correctly—which he really hoped he did—these guys would not really do much physical harassment; if any at all.

He casually went over and fished out a cigarette from the package before lighting it and inhaling deeply, then exhaling twofold. Why in the world did this have to feel so good, when he knew very well that it wasn't exactly good or healthy for that matter? Recently it got in the way of him making it to first string, he could actually argue with himself that this was the sole reason he was at the bottom of the second string as of now.

"Hey you!" A boy with blonde greased-back hair demanded. "What do you think you're doing?"

"What does it look like I'm cruddy doing?" Wally gave back, annoyance coating his voice. He probably should find another bin, but he only had ten minutes, so not cruddy likely.

"This is our spot, pal!" the blonde haired guy spat.

"Oh yeah?" Wally snorted, blowing out yet another puff of smoke. "Don't see your name anywhere mate."

"You better watch it loser, or I swear."

"Swear on what?" Wally asked agitated. "Swear you'll cruddy hurt me or something? Not gonna happen mate."

The blonde haired guy's face lit up in anger and his cheeks started turning red. His deep-blue eyes could as well have been an ocean of flames, and Wally observed as the guy rolled up his sleeves and knitted his fists.

"You think you're smart, huh punk? Then try and fight me, if you think you can."

"Sorry mate." Wally blew, putting out his now-finished bud. "But I've got better things to do than fighting losers like you who are bound to land themselves in jail in the future. Have a nice life, mate." He started walking along being somewhat proud of himself. Even though he had back talked a complete smart ass who thought he was all that, it was better than giving into his urge of just punching the guy in the face.

* * *

Wally had his hands shoved in his pockets while he walked into the class. He had somewhat of a grim expression upon his face, which quickly got replaced with a small smile when he saw Kuki waving him over; that overly wide smile attached to her innocent face. He was glad she didn't know, she couldn't judge him for anything; yet. He shook the thought aside as he sat down next to her, deciding that it wasn't worth getting worked up over or fearing. He would rather be in the here and now and try to maybe get close enough to all of his new friends, so he could one day tell them about his past or minor anger issues, without any of them judging him.

"You smell funny." Kuki mumbled after he'd sat down.

"That my friend, is the smell of fresh air." Wally smiled, feeling like a stone settled itself in his stomach while his heart got crushed by a pair of invisible hands.

* * *

He sat cross legged on Kuki's bed, facing her, which meant he could turn his eyes both to look at the still-blank paper and out the window. At the moment he was gazing out the latter, observing the gentle breeze play with the green leaves, while birds flew around, playing a game of tag. Well it looked like tag anyways, but in reality it was probably just the start of the mating season or something like that.

"So, what do you think we should write?" Kuki wondered out loud while chewing her pencil.

"I dunno." Wally shrugged, bouncing his crossed legs up and down a bit. "I just know all fairytales start with _once upon a time_, and end with _and they lived happily ever after_. The cruddy end." He started itching his thumb against his index and middle finger while sighing loudly. "Can't believe our cruddy teacher only gave us five cruddy days to write this crud. We'll never make it." He already felt hopelessly stressed, which only helped to agitate him, because if this could stress him, then a future in which he actually had a job seemed impossible.

"Not with that attitude." Kuki chuckled, annoying Wally for once since they met. He really did not need her to be goofy, or smiley or positive right now. "Let's see… In all fairytales there is always a hero who has to discover his or her potential. The hero is usually either a bit clumsy, a bit socially awkward or treated badly or unjust by the people around them, therefore lacking confidence."

"I thought we were writing a fairytale for Spanish class, not doing a psychology assignment." Wally interrupted her with a heave, ruffling his hair in frustration.

"We are silly." Kuki grinned, letting out that stupid giggle of hers. Well, it wasn't stupid, it was just because he was getting stressed and everything was taking overhand, and now he suddenly had to mix psychology into fairytale writing. Also, he had to translate it to Spanish, and he felt like punching Kuki if she didn't stop smiling soon. This was not fun and games, and they only had five days! Had she really not understood that at all?

"But in order to write a somewhat good fairytale, we'll have to think about what good fairytales consist of." Kuki continued, her innocent smile still planted on her lips. Why couldn't she just stop smiling and open a window instead? "There's the hero, the helpers, the enemy and also there are usually some tests; and let's not forget the magical numbers."

"Magical numbers?" Wally asked only paying half attention while biting the nail of his thumb in aggravation.

"Yeah, you know. Three, seven, thirteen."

"Right." Wally moaned. "How about this: Once upon a time, a lonely girl resided in a cabin in the woods."

"Let's say lived instead of resided, it's easier to translate." Kuki beamed, while scribbling down what they had so far in English, then they could always translate it to Spanish later on.

"Sure, okay." Wally said shortly, bouncing his legs faster. He felt like he was being suffocated in here, and everything was so stuffy and warm. Not just warm, but hot! He felt his throat going dry and it felt like his tongue had swollen to be at least twice its size. "Do you have anything to drink?"

"Sure. Well, I can go get something if you want?"

"Yes please." Waly groaned impatiently, sounding more bossy than he meant to. "Something cold if it's not too much to ask."  
"Not at all." Kuki smiled, keeping her sweet outside, and seemingly taking no offense to his behaviour what so ever. If he had been her, he would probably have at least slapped himself across the cheek by now.

"Would you mind if I opened your window while you're gone? I think it's getting a bit warm in here which makes it a bit hard for me to concentrate."

"Of course you can, you're more than welcome to. I've actually been considering it myself for a while, but I guess I just got over exited and immersed by our assignment, but sure. You open the window, I get lemonade." She send him one last flash of a smile before heading downstairs, and he felt like banging his head into the wall for being so weak.

-_I'm such a cruddy moron!_- He scolded himself while opening the window and fishing the package out of his right pocket. -_I'm really sorry Kuki, but I'm going insane! I just need this one._-

Carefully he graced the package before fishing it up of his pocket, looking at it with a bit of a disheartening look. He knew he had already had too many today and he was falling back into the chain habit, rather than cutting down to a point where he could quit completely. He looked into the package, which was almost empty already and heaved out a heavy sigh while trying to remember how many he had had today. Somewhere between three or five, and it was far too many.

"Tsh!" He scolded himself, while opening the window and sitting himself in the window sill, his legs out of the window, so only his back was in the room.

He really needed to get a hand on this before it took overhand again. He fished out a cigarette and put light to it, feeling relieved that at least Kuki's room wouldn't start smelling like cigarette smoke, which in turn wouldn't get her into potential trouble with her parents. Gently he almost caressed the paper with the touch of his lips and inhaled the poison with a subtle lust, that immediately relaxed every single muscle within him and made him able to breathe again. He knew most of this was just his own imagination playing tricks of him, and making him think this actually relaxed him with such belief it ended up actually relaxing him and clearing his mind. Why did this have to be so darn good?

"Sorry for making you wait so long." Kuki's sweet voice sang from the door while she closed it behind her.

He carefully gazed her way, catching her eyes which were glimmering with her usual cheerfulness. She had a tray in her hands on which there was a pitcher full of lemonade with ice cubes in it and two glasses. She carefully carried it to the study table and set it down with precision before looking to him again, her smile remaining though her head was cocked ever so slightly in confusion.

"What are you doing there?" She asked, a bit of concern to her melodic voice.

"Just getting some air." Wally sighed, sucking in once more.

"Be careful you don't fall." She pouted, sitting herself on her bed while observing him and the cloud of smoke that left with each inhale.

"Don't worry, I won't." He breathed, making her realize what it was he was actually doing as another huff of smoke left in the wake of his breath.

She felt her heart sink into her stomach and her throat tightening a bit, while her eyes started to burn and her vision went blurry. Of all the bad habits Wally could have picked up it just had to be smoking, and Kuki didn't exactly know why, but it made her so sad and disappointed in him. It made her almost feel as though he had betrayed her even though it was his own choice what he did with his life, and none of her concern really. But she was concerned, more than she probably should be, because he was her friend. She might not have known him for as log as she had know her other friends but that didn't mean she didn't cherish him as much. They had built a pretty close bond in their short period of knowing each other somehow, so it did upset her and it did make her want to slap him, to yell at him, to shake him and cry out to him how she didn't want him to die too young from lung cancer or whatever else this could bring with it, if she was to believe most sources.

"Would you please put that out?" She asked with a shaky voice, feeling like she was on the verge of tears.

"No point." He contorted, feeling guilty because he could hear how upset she was. "There's only one inhale left."

She watched helplessly as he inhaled one last time, then turned off the cigarette against the outer wall, before putting the finished bud back into the package and hopping back into her bed. He sat there next to her, as though nothing had happened and poured lemonade for both him and her, offering her a glass—which she reluctantly accepted—then taking a glass of his own, and making a little cheer motion before sipping the liquid and letting its cold refreshing flavour drown the foul taste of tar in his throat.

"Should we write that cruddy fairytale?" He then asked her, placing his glass on the table at the same time she placed hers.

"When did you start smoking?" She asked, causing a minor tension to form between the two of them. Tough strangely, Wally found he didn't really mind actually answering that question as long as it was only her who knew.

"When I was like, fourteen or something dumb."

"Why?" She couldn't hold back her tears anymore, she didn't know why but this deeply hurt her.

"Well… I guess it all started out as group pressure, but then before I knew it I was addicted to the crap. I used it to calm my nerves whenever I was angered, nervous or stressed." He took a little breath before continuing. "It became bad enough for me to start chain smoking, and I realized it had the worst thinkable affect on my stamina and such, because. Well it fucked up my lungs; pardon my French.

"I decided to call it cold turkey, the result of that, however, was that I got extremely aggressive and launched out at almost anyone, mostly verbally but sometimes it got physical, so instead I decided to cut down and one day stop all together."

"And how's that working out for you?" Kuki asked, sounding more bitter than she meant to.

"Could be better." Wally admitted. "It's just. Coming in like this, people assuming all these things about you, and then all the homework you suddenly get. Don't get me wrong, at boarding school we had them too, I just don't think we had this amount, and I find myself stressed, much too easily at that too. It's the only way I know how to calm down, I don't know anything else that might work." To this comment Kuki seemed to brighten up and gave a little smile.

"I think I might know something, if you're interested in suggestions?"

"Please." Wally chuckled. "I really want to quit, also because it's keeping me at the bottom of the second string hierarchy, or whatever it is."

"Well." Kuki sang. "It's pretty much meditation really. When you find yourself angered or nervous or stressed, then stop your thoughts from taking overhand—and yes it sounds easier than it is. But you need to sort of detach yourself, and find your center, focus on nothing or imagine yourself in a completely white room, and then you just take some deep breaths.

Guide your breath all the way to your abdomen and feel how the air circulates and refreshes with each breath, relaxing your body, your mind and your soul."

"You think you could show me, or teach me somehow. Help me a little along the way?"

"Sure." Kuki smiled, not annoying him anymore—thankfully. "But first, we need to write that 'cruddy fairytale' of ours." She teased, sticking her tongue out, which in turn brightened his mood completely and made him laugh. He couldn't quite recall the last time he'd really laughed like that, but it felt good.

* * *

**2013 Rewrite. Originally written between October 21st 2010 - March 31st 2011. I hope you enjoyed this rewrite.**

**Criticism and/or advices on improvement is/are highly appreciated and welcome :)**

**~*~TippierCoffee~*~**


	7. Mall bully

**Author: TippierCoffee**

**Disclaimer: I do not own—nor do I claim the rights to—any of the characters from the show **_**Codename: Kids Next Door**_**. All credit goes to rightful owner: Mr. Tom Warburton.**

**LTLY series: 1. Learning To Love You; 2. Again; 3. Alone; 4. Ever After.**

**OBS: I gave Wally's parents names. Mum: Kayla Beetles, dad: Wilbert Beetles.**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

Mall bully.

_Saturday November 18th, 12.30pm_

Wally had found he'd caught up with everything in high school a lot faster than he had expected. Maybe because of the program he had joined in _that_ place, but probably also because he had gotten a lot of help by Kuki. He soon had learned that all of Kuki's friends didn't sit together all the time, sometimes guys and girls would go each their way, probably talking about secrets or something. Hoagie and Nigel would also sometimes sit with the guys at the soccer table, and even though Wally had tried joining them once he wasn't exactly sure about how he felt about the guys who constantly kept talking about the cheerleaders or the 'hot girls', gawking them up and down.

His reputation had already become a mixture of bad, good and player. Bad because of the guy he had pounded near the bin in exchange for five inhales, who of course had spread the word and started nagging him about joining his little 'gang', good because he was actually an okay guy who knew right from wrong most of the time, and also because he kept an okay average, and player because he often enjoyed hanging out with Kuki more than Nigel and Hoagie, which meant he was kind of stuck hanging out with Abby, Rachel and Amber as well most of the time. This meant almost everyone at the school—or so it felt anyways—started assuming he was having something going on with all four of them, when he was not even interested in any of them in that way as far as he knew. Even Hoagie would sometimes joke about it, and when he did Wally would punch him on the shoulder, not exactly hard but not soft either. He really disliked all these assumptions and the reputation it brought with it, and it didn't make things better that the wanna-be-biker-gang kept approaching him and boasting about his punch and how he should join them and help rule the school. It had made a few of the students keep their distance to him, even though most of them seemed to have brain power enough to figure out he couldn't be half bad if he enjoyed hanging out with Nigel, Hoagie, Kuki, Abby, Rachel and Amber. They weren't bad people or bad influences, they were rather nice and stayed out of trouble, and if Wally was actually interested in breaking rules and seeming cool, he would have left them a long time ago to be with the leather-jacket-gang; or whatever they called themselves.

He had earned himself a little more respect during a soccer game however, a genuine respect that had roots in admirations. It had also given him a reputation of being a savior which had mostly ruled out the very few bad-boy rumors being cooked up by those stupid guys who had their own trash bin with ash tray. But some of the people who had trusted big-mouth-blondie-face's word with no doubt had ended up seeming like they were okay with giving him another chance all because of an unfortunate accident which happened.

One of the guys had been tackled rather harshly, which had resulted one of his scenes popping because of an unlucky angle he had landed in, and his shin had been damaged enough to be put in plaster cast, and he'd been humping around on a pair of crutches after that. Because of his success with more or less quiting and getting most of his stamina back, he had landed himself on the bench for this game, and when the other guy had fallen, the coach had—much to Wally's surprise—called him out to the field to play, and he had somewhat reluctantly gone out. Even though he'd known the strategy, and even though both Hoagie and Nigel were first stringers, more than willing to set him into the game, he had felt a bit out of place, right until they started playing.

After that whistle had been blown and everything had started, the ball had started rolling around on the ground, responding effortlessly to the many kicks from the various players, and Wally suddenly felt like he was not alone, he was one of the guys, which had made him feel less anxious, so much that he had sky rocketed and scored goal after goal after goal.

In the end some claimed he had scored maybe three or four goals, thereby almost singlehandedly making sure the team won, but he had kept insisting that it was team effort and could never be put down to one single guy, because they all had put their all into this. Didn't stop any of them from celebrating him, and he had apparently also gotten some numbers from random girls he didn't know, and therefore he hadn't bothered to keep the numbers at all.

A sigh escaped his lips which brought him back into the present, his eyes gazing emptily at the white ceiling. Suddenly he remembered why he had been brought back to that game. He had been trying to meditate because he had felt a bit grumpy and a bit stressed out, and he had failed to imagine himself in a white room, so instead he had just stared emptily at his ceiling. He wondered how long he had been lying here, just looking like a moron stuck on his bed with nothing on his mind.

Already his homework was taken care of and neither Nigel nor Hoagie had time to hang out today, or so they had claimed. They had talked about going somewhere, or already being somewhere, and he found it a bit disheartening they hadn't at least asked him. Even though he hung out with Kuki a bit more than the two of them, didn't mean he didn't see them as friends or didn't want to hang out with them every once in a while, but maybe they just kind of needed a bit time. Either that or they might have felt a little jealous at him? He didn't know, didn't want to think too much about it, they were friends fir sure, but that didn't mean they had to constantly hang out or always think of each other. Another sigh escaped his lips and at the same time he heard his phone give a chime, which made him divert his eyes to it.

Sloppily and with tired hands he clutched onto his phone and brought the screen parallel with his eyes to be able to read the text. First he was a bit unsure and feared it might have been one of the leather-jacket-wearing doofuses who somehow had gotten his number—maybe by beating up one of his friends, maybe by googling his name and finding him in the yellow pages—but he felt his mood brighten a little when he saw Kuki's name on the screen.

_Hey._ Her text read. _What are you up to Mr. Popular? :P_ He let out a light chuckle in amusement while rereading the text, then he shook his head while thinking that this was such a typical thing for Kuki to do.

_Not much. You?_ Her reply came almost instantaneously.

_Same._ He glared out the window a bit longingly observing as the heavy grey clouds gathered closer and closer, forecasting rain sometime very soon. _Do you want to maybe go somewhere?_

_Are you nuts? Have you not looked out your window Kuki, it's gonna rain soon._

He sat up and leaned his head into the cold wall next to his window, and turned his eyes. His focus on the outside and on that dumb banner he had decided to make because apparently it was an amazing idea. A heavy sigh escaped his lips while he felt his head going more and more numb by the moment, and he realized he was bored out of his mind, so whatever Kuki had planned or was thinking about couldn't be half bad; especially compared to just sitting on his bed and growing restless enough to get itchy fingers.

_Of course I've seen the clouds silly. Which is why I was wondering if we could maybe go to that new cafe in the mall together. I'm so booored!_ He couldn't help letting out a laughter that filled up his room.

Kuki would always be Kuki no matter what, but thinking of her sitting at home and being bored out of her mind, despite her incredible imagination, was quite amusing. However he also found a part of that laughter had erupted because it was so typical girls to invite people to the mall if they wanted to go out, but they weren't entirely sure where they should go or what they should do. That was at least how hen saw it anyways. Maybe he should play a little with her before answering her completely, that could be a little entertaining for him at least. His phone vibrated again and he had to hold back a new laughter when he read her comment.

_Sending you my biggest puppy-dog eyes while asking 'pleeease' in a cute way._

He shook his head and took one last look at the greying clouds then at his room. He didn't really have anything else to do so he might as well, although he knew answering yes would definitely make her think it was the comment about the puppy-dog eyes that had made him budge, as she recently had found out he for some reason had a hard time resisting them—though he wished he didn't, because it was sort of ridiculous, they just seemed to trigger something within him that made it impossible for him to say no.

_Okay. I'll meet you out front in five. But don't think this has anything to do with your cruddy eyes, I don't care. I'm just bored like you._

_Yay! Hugs~_

* * *

"Have you done all of your homework Wallabee?" His mother asked, a sternness to her voice which he had almost missed—almost.

"Of course I have mum." Wally smiled gently. "Which is the only reason I'm so bored, and before you ask: no it's not bad company, it's Kuki. Se wants to show me some cruddy new cafe in the mall or something girly like that, not like I have better things to do."

"You could help do the dishes and clean the house." His mother giggled, only half-joking.

"I'll take my chances at going on a 'date' with Kuki." He gave his mum a quick peck on the cheek before putting on a thin coat and walking outside where a gentle breeze met him, as well as Kuki who he almost knocked over because she was practically right in front of his door.

"Oh, hey Kuki." He smiled, helping her regain her balance which she had almost lost.

"Hi." She chirped, giving him a quick hug before letting go, respecting that he wasn't as touchy-feely as she was—or whatever he called it. "I thought you said five minutes not seven."

"Two minutes give or take. It's not the worst that could happen in the world." He teased. "Shall we?"

Kuki gave a small bob with her head and the two of them started walking down the streets together winds picking up a bit in pace and the grey clouds gathering closer still. Even tough the winds were only subtle Wally saw out of the corner of his eye how Kuki shivered a little and he offered her to walk closer to him to get heated up. He wasn't exactly sure why, when, or how, he just knew they were joking, while laughing and walking close side by side, and Kuki kept shivering until suddenly Wally put a hand around her shoulder to pull her even closer.

It wasn't exactly uncomfortable, it wasn't even awkward in the slightest, it was just something unexpected he had never though he would ever find himself doing because he was not a sucker for physical contact and now Kuki seemed to have heated him up somehow to at least be physically close to her. It was just kind of weird yet strangely comfortable at the same time. But his mind kept screaming at him to not get too close, because if he did it might just be a matter of time before Kuki wanted to share intimate secrets with him, and he had at least one of those he wouldn't want to tell her, which might make him feel unfit to be her friend at all, because it would seem as though he didn't trust her at all.

* * *

"You so did this on purpose." Wally moaned, looking at the three girls standing in front of the mall waiting for Kuki.

Amber looked like she was getting anxious waiting and just wanted to get inside as fast as possible so she could spend money she might not even have, on stuff she would most likely never use anyways. Rachel looked relaxed and content, Wally couldn't really remember having seen her look this relaxed before, so he guessed she had tagged along because it would take her mid off of things and give her a good time. Abby didn't exactly look like she minded being there, but she also looked like someone who thought this was probably not her favourite thing in the world to do. Maybe she had just tagged a long out of boredom just like himself. Except she seemed to have known the others would be there and Wally hadn't even been told.

"Kuki!" Amber squealed, when she finally put down her phone and noticed they had actually arrived. She gave a waved with a grin on her face and Wally observed as Kuki went up to give her a hug. "I see Wally tagged a long."

"More like got tricked." Wally huffed, stepping closer to the four of them. "She didn't tell me any of you would be here, or anything about this being some sort of cruddy shopping spree. I'm not going in there with the four of you."

"What, why not?" Kuki asked, obviously slightly hurt.

"Oh I don't know." Wally exclaimed, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "Could it possibly have anything to do with a lot of cruddy people from our school thinking I'm playing around with all four of you already?"

"Wally." Kuki sang, giving him her best puppy-dog eyes. He hated when she pulled those out, mostly because he for some reason always failed to resist them, but this time it was going to be different.

"I'm not cruddy going." He muttered as a final. "Not gonna be some cruddy bag boy for all of you."

He turned on his heel prepared to walk away, Kuki moaning in the background that he had already promised, her voice trembling with hurt. He didn't care, she hadn't told him anything about the others being there ready to potentially shop their hearts out. She had said it would be the two of them, or maybe he had just understood it like that, and it wasn't like he hated the others, but if it was just him and Kuki at least they would go to that cruddy cafe and get whatever. It wasn't fair she had implied it would just be the two of them—even if it was an accident—and then her three female friends were there, and one of them looked determined to visit each store at least twice.

He didn't exactly think Kuki was one of those who went shopping a whole lot, but he could see her spending hours on end watching everything when she finally went out shopping. Making sure to weight all of her options carefully before making any sort of choice. Rachel didn't look like the shopping type much either, maybe occasionally if she really needed something. Wally thought that maybe Abby would be buying books in there, if she was to buy anything at all. He had noticed she really liked reading a lot, and could finish up to three—or maybe five—books a day if she really wanted to.

A quiet rumble vibrated far away, closely followed by an aggressive downpour, and suddenly Wally found himself running inside the mall for shelter, closely behind the four girls. Both Amber and Kuki were squealing a little because of the rain, Kuki's squeal sounded more delighted while Amber sounded absolutely horrified. She was probably one of those who was 'allergic' to the rain and would start whining as soon as minor droplets fell. Once inside and in shelter of the aggressive rain Kuki started giggling a little looking around on all of her friends.

"We're already soaked." She smiled half heartedly.

"Just my luck." Wally muttered, looking outside and cussing under his breath. If there really was a God somewhere, then God was definitely mocking him right now, and probably having the time of His life.

"Aw, cheer up Wally." Amber teased with a flirty wink. "It's not the end of the world being stuck in here with us. I bet you most guys would give their left arm to be in your position."

"Pf!" Wally scoffed. "Bunch 'a idiots."

* * *

Wally sighed heavily, not for the first time since he'd been caught here about half an hour ago. He was caught on a bench, Abby seated next to him engrossed in some book, while the three other girls stared at dresses. Of all the cruddy things in this cruddy world for Kuki to trick him into, it just had to be girly window shopping which was bound to borify him to death!

Rachel looked like she was only paying half attention to what was actually being said, but she probably preferred standing to sitting, and maybe she found standing next to him and Abby would be awkward as she would have to talk down to them. Kuki and Amber however was a whole different story. They were letting out fits of giggles while debating which dresses looked better, and something about wedding dresses which they apparently already wanted to start planning out now.

"Cruddy girls." Wally muttered, leaning back while feeling absolutely numb from boredom. "Hey Abby?"

"Hm?"

"What are you reading?" He knew it was rude, and probably a bad idea, to interrupt someone as immersed in a book as Abby could become, but he needed to do _something_.

"Treasure island." She muttered shortly, a hint of annoyance in her raspy voice.

"Is it good?"

"It'd be a lot better if you'd shut up and let Abby read." She complained silently through gritted teeth, while adjusting her reading glasses.

Wally opened his mouth to say something, but the way Abby was staring daggers into him held him back from asking any more questions and he proceeded to lean back with a heavy exhale while staring at the three girls by the shop window with dead eyes. His eyes rested for a moment on Kuki who was laughing and seemed to be having the time of her life, and Wally started wondering more and more what he was even doing here when she clearly didn't need him here. Not that he wanted to be needed, or wanted to sound needy for that matter, it was just ticking him off more and more by the minute. He found he was bouncing his legs impatiently and tapping his feet to the floor, which in turn started ticking off Abby.

"Did you know they were gonna just do that? Window shop I mean." Wally blurted, boredom already overriding his mind, and he knew he wasn't the only one bored to death here, he was just the only one who didn't have anything else to preoccupy his mind with.

Abby put her book mark in her book and smacked it close while she looked like someone who was about to rip off his head, but instead she managed to take a couple of very deep breath takes until she had repositioned herself enough to be able to talk to him somewhat calmly, although still a bit exasperated.

"Abby did, that's the whole reason she brought a book to read in." Abby growled.

"Sorry." Wally muttered lowly. "I just had no cruddy idea because Kuki didn't tell me anything about you guys, so I wasn't prepared at all. I feel like a prop and this is just as boring as staring into a wall."

"Abby says you could just start flirting with some random girls if you're that bored. Or better yet, buy an umbrella and go home."

"What are you doing?" Kuki asked sweetly, coming over with Amber and Rachel at heel; Rachel looking half-bored herself.

"Contemplating." Abby exclaimed shortly. "I think your boyfriend feels like you tricked him."

"First of all, I am _not_ her boyfriend." Wally said, feeling annoyed all over about those stupid assumptions about him and Kuki dating. "And second of all I don't _feel_ like she tricked me, she really _did_."

"I'm sorry Wally." Kuki mumbled with half a smile.

"Whatever." Wally groaned getting up and ready to leave.

"Where are you going?" Kuki asked saddened.

"Home." Wally scolded tiredly. "I didn't tag along to look at you and your friends window shopping while being left out with Abby, who at least brought a book to entertain herself because she at least was told this was what it was going to be."

Kuki was just about to open her mouth to defend herself somehow, though she wasn't entirely sure how as Wally did have a valid point. She hadn't given him _any_ attention what so ever, ever since they entered the mall, and she had even said she wanted to hang out with him to entertain herself, but she was entertaining herself with anyone but him. Though she figured at the very least she could try pleading, apologizing and making up for it by actually taking him to the cafe, but something in his look told her he was pretty determined to _not_ stay any longer if he was going to be surrounded by giggling girls.

"Hey guys." Nigel's voice called and they all turned their heads to see Nigel and Hoagie walking along. "Fancy meeting you here, what are you doing?"

"Trying to read." Abby exclaimed, getting up from her place while showing the cover of her book.

"Being borified to death." Wally exasperated. "What about you, I thought you both were busy?"

"Well." Nigel stated. "We got send here on an official errand for the soccer team. Apparently our soccer balls are starting to wear out, but then it started raining really heavily and now we're sort of just stuck in here until it stops."

"We were just heading to the Pizza Hut downstairs to get a little to eat." Hoagie smiled. "Do you want to join?"

"Abby would be happy to get away from here, no offense girls, Abby is just not really in that sort of mood today, and I think I _had_ hoped we would be doing other things."

"Count me in too." Rachel exhaled giving an apologetic smile to Kuki and Amber. "I've had an okay time, but I can only window shop for so long before my head gets tired."

"I don't have that much money." Wally admitted. "I don't even think I have enough for Pizza Hut and I don't like to leech off of you guys, so I guess I'm sort of stuck here for now."

"I wouldn't mind paying for you." Hoagie shrugged. "I don't even care if you ever pay me back or not, that's what friends are for."

"Thanks mate." Wally smiled, feeling his heart thump with joy because people were considering him as their friend—however weird that might seem to some. "I did kind of promise Kuki to stick around though, however much I dislike it."

"Well, okay then." Hoagie said, a mischievous smile sneaking into the corner of his mouth. "But if you feel too bored then just text me and we'll come rescue you."

"Appreciate it." Wally smiled as he watched his only hope for escape walk away to get something to eat.

"I'll stick around under one condition." He then said with a stern voice, turning his attention to Kuki and Amber. "Can we _please_ do something other than window shopping?"

"Sure." Amber smiled slyly. "I have just the idea."

* * *

_2pm_

This was not exactly Wally's idea of fun either, and he wasn't sure which one he preferred more, window shopping or this. He wouldn't really gain anything by checking out guys either or commenting on whether or not they were good looking, he wasn't gay. Not that he had a problem with gay people, he just wasn't one of them.

At the very least Kuki had finally decided to keep her promise, and had taken them to that cafe she had been talking about ever since this morning.

"Tell me." Amber sang, catching Wally's attention. "How do you know if a guy is genuinely interested in you?"

"How the crud would I know?" Wally shrugged. "Don't people usually say something about eye contact and elevator looks? That if they look into your eyes and stuff they're probably okay. I don't really care."'He longingly listened to the subtle raindrops falling outside, letting him know the rain had calmed down at long last, if he waited maybe five minutes more he could get out of this place and go home and do something else. Play video games with his brother or something. Even watching Joey trying to beat the renewed _Mickey Mouse: Castle of illusion_ sounded more fun than this, because at least he got to say encouraging words and help out his brother on the parts he found a little too difficult.

"Oh my God. " Amber whispered to the two of them, Kuki listening intensely and Wally barely paying attention. "That guy over there, I think he's checking us out."

Wally lazily followed her eyes to a guy who sat with two of his friends, all three of them shooting glances at Kuki and Amber while grunting something to the guy who was allegedly 'checking out' Kuki and Amber, or maybe just one of them. He saw in the corner of his eyes how Amber started sending flirtatious looks to the guy and Kuki giggled in acknowledgment and Wally found himself rolling his eyes while feeling like he was going to barf.

He observed as the guy who was 'checking out' got up from his seat with a sheepish grin and started walking over towards them, his eyes now only locked on Amber who was seated farthest away from Wally. Seeing as Kuki was seated next to him, Wally figured the guy probably thought—like everybody else—that he and Kuki were dating, and therefore he had decided to go for Amber.

"Hey there." He said coyly, practically reeking of self esteem. Wally's guess was that he was probably one or two yeasr older than the three of them. "I couldn't help but notice you because I have a weakness for gingers, but when I saw your eyes you practically swiped me off of my feet, and I found myself thinking: whoa. That girl must be carrying magnets around because I feel attracted to her."

Amber started chortling sweetly almost turning it into a full blown laughter and Wally's tongue decided to leave his mouth to hang in mid air while his face tuned into a face of someone who was extremely nauseated.

"Barf me." He snorted.

"Don't mind him." Amber blurted when she saw the guy's facial expression. "Hes born grumpy like that and hats everything."

"I see." The guy chuckled. "Well, I guess since you caught my attention I figured I might as well introduce myself, also because my friends were starting to nag me about it. My name is Christopher Terrance, but my friends just call me CT."

"I'm Amber." Amber smiled, shaking his hand softly, although Wally's mind had left the room the moment CT had introduced himself.

"_I'm Kristopher Workman." The dark-haired guy sneered. "But if you don't want to get punched you call me Kris."_

"I know we just met and all." CT's voice brought Wally back to the present. "But I guess you're probably starting to get bored of being a third wheel, so maybe we could free each other from each other's friends for a while, get to know each other a little more?"

"Well…" Amber pondered, looking to Kuki who smiled with encouragement.

"She's not a third wheel." Wally muttered, glaring at CT. "But whatever she wants to do is up to her, I'm not her dad or anything. I just think it's a dumb idea, because like you said, she doesn't know you, or what you might do to her."

"Come on dude." CT chuckled. "Do I look like a bad guy to you?"

"I don't know." Wally said coldly. "What does a bad guy even look like?"

"I'd love to tag along with you." Amber interrupted. "And I'll repeat myself, don't mind him, he's just born that way."

"Take care Amber." Kuki smiled. "Remember the rule."

"Will do." Amber waved, walking off with CT.

Wally watched the two leave while he took a sip of his drink, his eyes never leaving CT and Amber until they were out of sight. He then diverted his eyes to CT's friends who got up and left in an opposite direction and for some reason he could just feel an uneasiness grow in his guts, as though something horrible was under way.

"I don't trust that guy." Wally admitted to Kuki, stirring his hot chocolate, which had turned out to be both his and Kuki's drink of choice.

"I thought he seemed pretty nice." Kuki chirped.

"Pf, right!" Wally snorted. "Who the crud even uses that lame pick up line with the magnets anymore? I can't believe Amber actually fell for it. How stupid can you be?"

"But why don't you trust him?"

"I just don't." Wally took another sip of the heated drink which usually managed to calm his mind, but for some reason he just seemed on edge.

He knew it was stupid and unfair to judge someone because of their name, but he couldn't help it. As far as he was concerned people by the name of Christopher or Chris, whether it was spelled with CH or K were not trustworthy and would never be. It was more than that though, he didn't like the way his friends conveniently had gotten up after he'd gone out of sight. Sure, they had walked in another direction, but there were many ways to 'coincidentally' bump into each other in here if you knew your way around, Wally remembered that much from his childhood here.

He started wondering if he worried too much and was just about to push the thought aside when his phone started vibrating in his pocket and he took it up to look at the display. _Incoming call: Amber Stanton (high school)_.

-_Crud. What does she want with me now?_- He thought a bit annoyed, yet the uneasiness kept being there, telling him that this might be something potentially dangerous. He picked up.

"Hello?" He waited, but it was quiet on the other end. "Amber if you're trying to cruddy prank me it's not funny."

He kept waiting, Kuki's eyes resting on him full of worry. Then he heard something that made him want to just scream to the world that anyone by the name of Christopher should be put to jail straight away. Flesh against flesh and Amber's whimpering voice. It sounded like he was roughing her up, and from the cackles in the background it didn't seem like he was alone.

"Stupid, cruddy…" He muttered, trailing off while cussing under his breath as he found a program on his phone that could track callers.

He had looked for ages for it and only installed it because he had been worried about his brother where they lived previously. So much so he had installed this crap—which he feared was not entirely legal—so he could come to his brother's rescue no matter where he was if he was ever in a pinch.

"Come on." He growled lowly to Kuki, taking her by the hand and running off towards Amber, CT and his friends.

* * *

"Are you having fun yet pretty?" CT sneered, pulling Amber by her hair while his friends laughed in the background.

Everything was completely isolated here, no one ever bothered to park because it was too far away from everything, and CT still triumphed in his head about how incredibly naïve Amber had been, and how insanely easy it had been luring her down here.

"Please." She sobbed, not knowing the first thing about how to fend for herself. "Stop, au!" A hand flew across her cheek while a knee found its way into her stomach. Not as hard as CT would have kicked her if she were a guy, but still enough to make her spit and cough.

"Silly little ginger, didn't I tell you to quiet down?" He lowered himself and picked her up bu the collar of her shirt, almost ripping it to pieces.

With a glare in his eyes and a lick of his lips, he pinned her hard against the cold stone wall while his two friends turned their back on him to keep a look out for anyone and everyone, while he proceeded to take a grip around her neck and nibble at her collarbone.

"Sweet little ginger." He sneered. But that was all he ever got to do before he heard a female scream Amber's name, and then a blonde guy came flying with the speed of a leopard, before fighting like a madman.

The blonde guy lay CT's friend down too easily for CT's liking, and with an outrageous yell he carelessly tossed Amber to the ground, as though she were a rag doll and stared the blonde boy down with a killer gaze. A killer gaze the blonde boy—Wally—returned with just as much tensity, and while Kuki found her way to Amber's side so she could comfort her, the two guys started a heated battle of fists and feet.

Horrified from the sideline, Kuki stared at this whole new side of Wally she had never seen. Murderous intent and no remorse. Fist flying to his opponent's jaw, stomach, nose and neck, while feet found their way to knees and tried to catch the groin too. The two guys kept taking turns in tossing each other to the ground, where CT's already beaten friends lay, both with bloodied noses and black eyes. A punch to CT's mouth, send blood spewing while subtle teeth marks and CT's blood found their way to Wally's knuckle, but he never ceased.

Wally thrust a knee firmly into CT's abdomen, making him double over while vomiting, and then Wally shoved him hard to the ground, before practically kicking him all the way to the wall where he picked CT up by his shirt before pinning him to the wall in a choking grip.

"Try hurting my friends again and I _will_ kill you, mate." Wally spat coldly, his eyes full of killer intent. Then he tossed CT into the arms of his now-conscious friends, and together the three of them stumbled away, probably too embarrassed to call anyone for help, but Wally wasn't going to take his chances.

"Let's get out of here." He mumbled, drying him knuckles and whatever little blood he had on his face, before going to help Amber balance on her trembling legs. "Come on Kuki."

"Coming." Kuki said breathlessly, suppressing tears of fear. Never before had she been so terrified of a person as she was of Wally right now.

* * *

**2013 Rewrite. Originally written between October 21st 2010 - March 31st 2011. I hope you enjoyed this rewrite.**

**Criticism and/or advices on improvement is/are highly appreciated and welcome :)**

**~*~TippierCoffee~*~**


	8. First kiss

**Author: TippierCoffee**

**Disclaimer: I do not own—nor do I claim the rights to—any of the characters from the show **_**Codename: Kids Next Door**_**. All credit goes to rightful owner: Mr. Tom Warburton.**

**LTLY series: 1. Learning To Love You; 2. Again; 3. Alone; 4. Ever After.**

**OBS: I gave Wally's parents names. Mum: Kayla Beetles, dad: Wilbert Beetles.**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

First kiss.

_Saturday November 18th, 3pm._

Wally carefully guided Amber into Kuki's living room and sat her on a chair gently while kneeling in front of her. He kept wiping her tears with soft strokes of his thumbs until Kuki got a tissue out for Amber, which she handed to him, making sure to stay at a distance.

He gracefully passed the tissued onto Amber while mumbling for Kuki to find some ice for Amber's cheek and darkening skin around her eye, and while Kuki set to find that Wally locked eyes with Amber for a moment who just sat there looking a little helpless, but she at least didn't flinch in the slightest by the sight of him. He carefully took one of her hands in his and stroked her knuckled with his thump, while the other hand softly petted her shoulder to calm her and let her know it was okay. She was safe now, and both he and Kuki were there for her.

"You think you'll be okay?" He asked, curling together his tissue and tossing it to the table, before taking the ice bag Kuki had finally returned with, which he wrapped in a tea towel and gently placed on Amber's wound.

"I think so." She sobbed, giving a little hiccup. "What about you? What will you do if they call the police or something?"

"Pf." Wally snorted. "Trust me, I know their types. They've got too much pride, they will most likely never talk about this ever again. It's embarrassing for tough guys like them to be lay down by a single guy."

"Are you sure." Amber asked while darting her eyes between Wally kneeling in front of her, and Kuki who had taken a seat on a chair some distance away from her. "I would hate to see you being tossed into juvenile detention, or prison or whatever, just because of me."

"Nah, those guys won't tell. Just trust me on this one." He kept locking eyes with Amber feeling the worry subdue, just be replaced with a new worry.

In theory she was right, even though these guys seemed like the overly proud type who would never tell, Wally would never knew. But it was pointless to worry about now, even if he could be pledged guilty he had just helped a friend in need. Any friend of Kuki was a friend of his, so he felt like he hadn't technically done anything wrong, though he knew that it would probably have been smarter to find a mall guard or whatever. He hadn't thought of that at the moment though, who would?

He guided Amber's hand to the ice bag on her face before getting up and gracefully dusting off his pants, then he looked between Amber and Kuki. Amber's eyes kept following him both with curiosity and gratitude, while Kuki seemed to avoid him. It was almost as if she was trying to ignore his presence all together, although it seemed to be more than that. She looked absolutely terrified and Wally was sure he wouldn't be able to calm her down, because he knew it was because of him. Not that he minded her being scared if she was, he just hoped she would overcome it or at least tell him what had made her so scared and talk her through it or something.

He felt it was a bit unfair seeing her trembling while on the verge of tears when it was Amber who had just had a horribly scary experience and all she had done was watch him fight. Whatever, if she was going to get scared of him just because he could fight for the sake of his friends, or his friends friends, then so be it. At the very least he had done something, not that she hadn't but her participation had been minimal. Wally scolded himself a little then took one final look between the girls and then he turned around to leave.

"Where are you going?" Amber asked him, a bit of worry in her voice. As though she really wanted to ask him to stay.

"Just going to clean myself of." He mumbled with a little smile, showing his worn and bloodied knuckles to her. "I don't want to keep walking around with someone else's nose blood on my knuckles."

Amber gave a giggle while Wally left, and when he was out of sight she turned her eyes to Kuki who had been eerily silent ever since the whole incident had been going on. She kept her eyes locked on Kuki for a while, watching as her body started trembling even more and she started sobbing a bit more loud than she probably meant to.

"What's up with you Kuki?" Amber asked worried, yet she felt a little offended. Not that she wanted the attention of all of the world or anything, but she _was_ the one who had been assaulted, and not Kuki.

"Nothing." Kuki lied with a little sob. "I was just really worried about you and I guess when we found you I just started breaking down because I couldn't really think what would have happened if we hadn't found you."

"Yeah." Amber sighed, smiling a little while feeling her heart speed up a bit. "Wally is really a good addition to your friend list Kuki. Just think, if it wasn't for him I might have been mugged."

"He was terrifying." Kuki broke down, feeling everything inside her turn and sink. She hated feeling like this when she considered Wally her best friend, but she could not shake the shivers or the image of his eyes burning with murderous intent.

"What are you blabbering about?" Amber asked in disbelief. "He was like a knight in shining armor, coming for the damsel in distress. If anyone was terrifying it was CT and his idiot friends!"

"And Wally." Kuki sobbed. "I've never seen him like that before. He looked ready to kill, actually _kill_, to make sure you didn't get hurt. While I do agree it's nice someone is there ready to protect people they care for, it's just really scary to see them become murderous."

"Get a grip Kuki!" Amber scoffed. "Wally was a hero and that's all there is to it. Was he rough? Yes, but guess what? If he hadn't been all three of us would have been beaten to pulps by now. Sometimes you just have to realize you have to become scary-looking to get your point across when it comes to people like CT."

"No Amber. I don't know what happened to Wally but it's like he changed completely, he became someone completely different. I couldn't recognize him at all and he really looked like he was about to kill that guy, which was just really terrifying to me."

"You should be more grateful. Or maybe you don't care about me at all?"

"What?!" Kuki squealed in disbelief. "Of course I care about you Amber, when did I ever say I didn't?!"

"Just the way you act you seem like you would have wished Wally never did what he did."

"Well yeah." Kuki admitted, knowing Amber would hate her for a couple of days for saying what she was about to say. "I really wish he had found a mall guard and told the situation to them instead so it could have been broken up without any trouble, Or maybe you're forgetting that Wally could actually get into really bad trouble if they actually do file him?"

"You heard what Wally said yourself." Amber scolded, not believing her own ears. "These guys have too much pride to tell anyone; how about trusting his judgment?"

"How about realizing that he doesn't know the first thing about those guys?" Kuki cried, shaking more than before. "I don't want him to get into trouble because of this."

"But you would be okay with him taking his merry time finding a mall guard who would actually believe him? I could have died in the meantime then, but I guess that means nothing to you because you're so busy only caring about Wally ever since he moved in."

"That's not true!" Kuki defended. She still cared about Amber, and while she was very grateful Amber had never gotten more hurt than she had, she also really cared about Wally. Was it really so hard for Kuki to wish that this could have been done without Wally putting himself in a potentially dangerous situation? Was it really so wrong for her to be horrified by his behaviour when she had never seen him like that before?

"It doesn't really matter." Amber sighed, trying to forgive Kuki even though she did feel a little unappreciated by her and less important. "The point is we got away from there and no real harm was done to anyone who didn't deserve it, other than me."

"What's all the yelling about?" Wally's voice came form the entrance to the kitchen, the blood at the corner of his lips and on his knuckles now gone. The only way to tell that had had actually been in some sort of fight was his hoodie which had been torn a little and a subtle bruise on his left cheek, other than that he looked like an ordinary high school boy who was just sitting in the kitchen which belonged to his neighbour.

"We just had a minor disagreement." Amber stated, not wishing to get Kuki into to trouble. If Kuki wanted to tell Wally she suddenly found him terrifying because he'd saved Amber herself, then that was up to Kuki to tell.

"I something wrong Kuki?" Wally asked while sitting down and diverting his worried eyes to Kuki who was focusing only on the table while trembling ever so lightly.

Kuki simply shook her head never once meeting his eyes or letting out the slightest sound, but what she didn't know was that Wally had actually heard their conversation and he'd felt his heart sink into his guts when he heard Kuki call him terrifying and murderous. Not so much because she felt like that, he guess he could see it from her view, because what she said had been true; she had never seen the aggressive side of him that acted before thinking and diving head-first into dumb situations. He had just hoped, seeing as his bond with Kuki had become strong enough for him to consider her his closest most trusted friend, or best friend, that maybe she felt the same for him and would be honest about this feeling inside of her. Yet, when he had asked her, giving her plenty of room to confess on her own accord without pushing her in any way what so ever, she had let Amber take the heat from her and not said a word herself.

"Are you sure?" He asked gently, trying to press an answer out of her. She gave a small nod before giving him a weak smile, unable to hold eye contact with him.

"I think I just got scared about what happened to Amber. She's a dear friend to me after all." Her smile remained, however weak it was, but her eyes were still fixated to the table and not long after she had fed him her seemingly innocent lie she started twiddling her hands while focusing on them almost with a passion—Kuki was a terrible liar.

"Well okay then." Wally said, trying his best to hide his hurt. He really didn't mind she was scaerd, but something about the way she was lying to him right now just made him so upset and made him wonder why. "I guess I'll go home unless you need me."

"That's okay." Amber smiled, meeting his eyes and making his mood brighten. At least she could still look at him. "I think we'll be fine. Thanks for everything Wally, I really owe you."

"Nah, don't mention it." Wally puffed waving his hand nonchalantly. "I guess a friend of Kuki's is a friend of mine and I don't like it when my friends get hurt."

Amber laughed softly at his statement her eyes sparkling with gratitude while she kept looking to him with nothing but pure admiration, and Wally swore his heartbeat became so loud he was sure she could hear it and he felt his face heat up a little. He'd never really noticed how pretty Amber's eyes were before, but he could now. Ocean blue with the green tint just looking at him with kindness and affection and making his head spin in circles.

"Well" Wally connected his knitted hands on top of each other "Take care Amber. You too Kuki." Then he headed to Kuki's front door and left while hastily yelling _See you Monday_ to the two girls.

* * *

_Sunday November 19th, 3pm_

Kuki sat in her bed, her back against the head rest while she absentmindedly watched one of her Rainbow monkey DVDs. She had all of the seasons on box sets, and they always seemed to cheer her up, but now she wasn't so sure. She kept seeing flashes of Wally taking care of CT and his eyes burning with all that hate. If she hadn't known him and had just seen him like that she would probably have been fearing for her own life because he seemed so full of intent; so ready to kill.

She lay down with a heavy sigh and a little groan. She hated thinking like this about Wally when she knew he wasn't that kind of guy, but she couldn't shake this uneasy feeling she had suddenly gotten for him. She hadn't even been able to honestly tell him about feeling scared of him, because that in itself had scared her. What if he'd snap and punch her or something?

That was something else she absolutely hated herself for thinking. Wally would _never_ punch his friends, she knew he wouldn't. She knew because she knew him, but suddenly that all seemed to have changed just because he had this impulsive aggressive side to him she had never seen, and something within her had started questioning whether or not she actually knew him.

It was excruciating and saddening, like a part of her had pushed him far enough away, for her to have to build up some new trust to him with this knowledge in mind. The way he had left yesterday also hadn't helped her at all. Something in his eyes had been so sad, like he knew she was hiding something from him and it pained her, but hopefully not as much as it pained her feeling like she couldn't tell him anything. She wanted to be able to goof off with him again and talk about everything and anything, but maybe she just needed some time to accept he had this side to him. Some time to get over the initial shock of seeing him like this. Her train of thoughts were abruptly put to an end when her text tone sounded from her cell phone. She picked it up and looked at the display only to see the name of the one who was currently troubling her mind.

-_Wally…_- She bit her bottom lip softly and took a deep breath before opening the text. She wasn't really sure why, but it felt like something she had to do.

_How are you doing? You seemed a bit off yesterday, you sure you're okay?_ Kuki stared dumbfounded at the text. A part of her felt like this text was actually meant for Amber, but that couldn't be, because their names weren't even close to each other's.

_I'm fine. Just… A lot of things happened I suppose._ Only half a minute passed before he replied.

_Well, okay then. I just hope I didn't scare you or anything yesterday. I know it was cruddy dumb and stuff, I just don't want it to ruin our friendship._ Kuki's eyes widened a little and she felt her heart pick up in speed while it fell into her stomach. He knew?

_Of course not._ She lied _Can I maybe come over or something?_ Almost two minutes passed by this time before she got her reply, and when she did something within her shattered for reasons unknown to her.

_I can't. I'm at Amber's, she invited me over. Did you know she lives in a mansion? I swear my jaw fell off when I saw it. Cruddy rich people. I only agreed to come because I thought I'd check up on her. Speaking of the devil, she just came in asking me who I'm texting, she also said hi. I'll catch you later k?_

_Okay._ Kuki replied, a single tear falling from her eye as she fell back into bed while the rainbow monkey tune played in the background for like the hundredth time that episode.

* * *

Wally shuffled a little in his place, while accepting the orange flavoured soft drink Amber had brought up with her. He kept looking around in her room in front of him, not paying much attention to the shelve above his head. He would never have guessed Amber to come form a rich family, who had to have a care taker to look after her, because they both had overseas business quite often.

It wasn't like she complained or anything, but it did explain shy she sometimes seemed to like being the center of attention. It was a little sad knowing she was an only child who rarely ever got attention, and whose love and forgiveness was more or less bought by parents too busy to be there for her most of the time. They didn't even know about what had happened yesterday or how she'd gotten out of it, not that Wally minded it. As far as he was concerned, the fewer who knew about this whole thing the better.

"Thanks for coming by." Amber smiled. "Checking up on me and all, you really are a knight in shining armor, slash hero."

"Don't you think you're exaggerating a little?" Wally chuckled. "But you're welcome. I guess I should also thank you for not freaking out and finding me scary after seeing me like that."

"Why would anyone find you scary for that?" Amber teased, Kuki's words form yesterday echoing vastly in her head.

"Kuki certainly seems to think I'm scary, or was it terrifying?" Wally blurted, a bit of hurt crossing over his eyes.

"You knew about that?" Amber asked surprised.

"I overheard. I don't mind she feels like that, I just wish she would have told me instead of avoiding it, or lying about it, or whatever it was she did."

"I'm sure she didn't mean anything harmful by it." Amber comforted, carefully placing a hand on Wally's shoulder.

He gently put his own hand on top of hers and stroked it softly while sending her a smile that she returned. He got that feeling of his heart speeding up all over again while his head started spinning and his smiled turned into a grin that no doubt looked ridiculous. He found himself focusing on Amber's eyes, the tingle in them which was all new, and it just drew him in and seemed to steal his breath. Her entire face was actually quite pretty when he thought about it, soft and nearly flawless. He wasn't sure how she managed to have it like that, but he guessed it might have something to do with the hundred of skin care products she had in her room. She really did take care of her looks, which came to show when you sat and thought about it, or noticed it.

"Can I confess to something?" Amber asked, snapping Wally out of his hazed mind, while he tried to forget his eyes lingering on Amber's glossed lips.

"Sure, what's up?" He asked, hoping he didn't sound too breathless.

"So, you know how I gossip and stuff right?" Wally gave a short nod, which Amber took as her cue to continue. "Well, I sort of feel embarrassed for admitting this, but we gossip about the guys on the sports teams, me and the other cheerleaders, and well… I kind of find I gossip a _lot_ about you and how nice you seem, and how much I just love your eyes.

"Anyways. After yesterday I just found you've been on my mind a _lot_, and I know this may sound like me having that hero complex or what it is, where you think you love somebody because they saved you, so I've really been thinking it over and realized that you are one of my favourtie topics.

"I guess, what I'm trying to say is that you just really opened my mind to everything you're willing to do for people you truly care about. You are really a true hero, and I'm not going to lie, I do have a soft spot for guys who do heroic things. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I might have fallen for you, but only just realized it yesterday, and I just wanted to tell you so I could get it off my chest and know whether you feel the same for me or not."

"Oh." Wally said, feeling a bit dumb, but he definitely knew something within him really liked Amber a lot. Especially after she had not changed how she treated him after what happened yesterday.

"What about Taylor Lautner?" He teased.

"Well. Even though I can't deny you are no Taylor I actually know you, and I think my chances are better with someone who actually knows I exist." To this statement Wally couldn't help but let out a chuckle while feeling how he got filled with an affection for Amber he definitely had never had before.

"Well." He stated, deciding it would be better to be completely honest with Amber. "I definitely feel something for you. I just don't know if it's love or not, but it definitely is some sort of deep affection. I guess I wouldn't mind trying to get closer to you and see if I can figure it out for sure, but even if it is love I need to warn you now.

"I'm not one of those cruddy PDA people, I don't exactly like showing my affection in public because I'm not a touchy type, and I guess it makes me feel vulnerable and weak, but if we end up, you know; dating or whatever, you need to give me time to get used to the whole public affection thing."

"I can live with that." Amber giggled with a blush, feeling her heart hammering in her ears, mostly because of what she was planning to do. "As for figuring out whether or not you just like me a lot or love me, I think I have an idea."

"And what's that?" Wally chuckled, turning his attention to her, just to be greeted by her hands softly resting on his shoulders and collarbone, then she leaned in and planted her lips on his, carefully and tenderly.

He felt their sweetness mixed with the tatse of her vanilla flavoured lip gloss take over him, and when he found she was about to back away his arms acted on their own and wrapped around the lower part of her back so he could draw her back in and return what she had given him. Softly, carefully, tasty. It send shivers down his spine while he sensed their hearts synchronizing somehow, yet somewhere in his mind—in the darkest, deepest chambers of his subconscious—something seemed to be reaching out for him. Almost as though he was forgetting something. Something important.

He shook it off and decided it was probably just his mind being scared Amber would find out one day without him telling, his hidden past which he would not tell her as of yet. Maybe one day, and maybe that unnerved him. That had to be it, because he definitely knew there was no one else in his life, so what could he possibly be forgetting?

Most certainly not something which was worth getting upset over. Maybe he should just accept this was happening and get used to the idea of Amber taking the spot as his girlfriend, slowly but surely, and it wasn't even uncomfortable or anything to him. So instead of listening to that almost invisible voice, he pushed it aside while proceeding to spend the day with Amber, getting to know her better as this new person of importance in his life.

* * *

_Monday November 20th, 7.35pm_

Wally walked on his own towards the bus sop, pulling his shoulders inward and upward so he could stop his mild shivering caused by the chilly weather. He had wanted to knock on Kuki's door, he really had, but he still felt upset about her not telling about her fear for him to him, and even though a part of him felt it was extremely girly to be this upset and offended about such a minor thing he thought he was allowed to. They were best friends, shouldn't they be able to tell each other everything?

He sighed heavily while pulling his shoulders closer into him, feeling a bit dumb for thinking like this, he'd just thought Kuki trusted him. Though thinking about it, she most certainly would have her own reasons or not wanting to tell him. Maybe it was to _not_ upset him; it seemed like the most correct assumption when knowing Kuki and what she was like. In reality he probably shouldn't be boasting in his head about how dishonest he thought Kuki was, when even he had things he hadn't told her and never would.

Coming closer to the stop he saw Kuki already standing there and he felt his stomach sink. This was the first time they hadn't walked to the bus together ever since they met, which was a bit weird yet funny to think about. All the memories they had built up in their short amount of time were both hilarious and heartwarming, and Wally found he couldn't help but chuckle as he came up next to Kuki remembering that one time where they had been quarreling about her love for rainbow monkeys, which had ended up upsetting and offending her so much that she had assured him she would nevereover talk to him ever again, and she'd crossed her arms and looked away with an angry expression.

"Good morning." Wally mumbled to her, trying to read her facial expression, but she didn't even meet his eyes.

"Amber told me." She stated simply, her voice weak and distant.

"Told you what?"

"About you and her." Kuki finally looked to Wally, her eyes seemed watery and she looked like she hadn't slept that well. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It _just_ happened Kuki, give me a chance to even meet up with you. Not exactly easy when you decide to suddenly avoid me."

"When did I try to avoid you?" She asked in disbelief.

"Saturday, when we got home to you. I overheard you telling Amber you thought I looked terrifying while in that fight and that I scared you, but funnily enough you didn't tell me anything at all. So the one asking _why didn't you tell me_, should be me."

"You want to know?" She snapped, tears showing in the corners of her eyes.

"I would cruddy love to know" He scowled.

"Because I was scared of you. There. I'm not proud of it, because I know Amber was right in some ways, that you just did it to save her and that you _were_ a hero in some ways, but I really wished you would have called the guards. What if you'll get into trouble?" She stepped into the bus, him following closely behind her.

"What kind of trouble?" Wally scoffed taking a seat next to her.

"Police, Wally." She hissed. "What if those guys _had_ called the guard or the police to tell about you, and then you'd go into juvenile detention or something."

"For self defense? Fat chance. I think I'd more likely get social service or something."

"But you weren't defending yourself Wally!" She spat, a little too loudly for his taste. "You were defending Amber and you could get in trouble if those idiots actually ever told anyone. Especially for that death threat at the end, not the smartest thing you could ever do."

"Look Kuki." He whispered, trying to compose himself, while showing her a hand with his palm pointing downward as if to tell her to quiet her voice. "I know those type of guys too well, and you need to trust me on this one. Their pride and cocky behaviour, which usually makes them think they're all that, won't allow them to tell they got defeated by one guy alone."

"How would you know? You don't know them personally." She kept wiping away ever pressing tears while her body was trembling beneath her.

She hated to admit all of the things going on inside of her to herself. She was very worried for Wally and what he might end up in if he was wrong about what kind of 'type' those guys were, and she was still on edge knowing Wally had something like that inside of him. Not that she hoped he would ever hurt anyone unprovoked, but if what if he was willing to do more than just knock a few guys out to protect someone. What if he was actually willing to go to his death protecting someone, or worse; kill someone else?

It scared her so deeply and she found she was actually becoming uncomfortable sitting next to him. Uncomfortable knowing his strength and what he might or might not be capable of, but at the same time she also really despised herself for her way of thinking. Wally was a nice guy, he would never hurt a fly, this was something he had done because he had felt absolutely forced to. It had to be.

"Look." Wally at last sighed. "I know what these guys would do okay. I used to be these guys, why do you think my parents send me to boarding school to straighten me up? Did I enjoy punching them? Crud no. I had actually made a vow to myself that I would never fight again as long as I live, but I guess sometimes you have to do what you have to do for your friends. I _am_ sorry for freaking you out, I really am, but I really wish you would have told me instead of being scared that I'd do something to you too. I don't hurt my true friends and let's face it. You're my cruddy best friends, which puts you on the top of the list of people I would never hurt."

"Along with Amber you mean?" She sighed, looking to him.

"Yes, along with her." He scratched his neck a little uncomfortably while letting people file out the bus. "I hope you don't mind the thing about us, it just kind of happened."

"Why would I mind?" Kuki snapped, a little too defensively for her own liking.

She didn't really understand why she felt like she did, but she really wanted to punch Wally while crying and screaming at him. She also wanted to do something to Amber, like telling her to stay away from Wally, but it didn't make any sense to tell Amber something like that, because all that Wally was to her was just a best friend. Maybe that was why she was feeling annoyed? Because she was scared Amber would get between her and Wally? Although that made even less sense, Amber wasn't one of those girls.

"You don't need to yell at me." Wally muttered annoyed. He hated how Kuki was behaving right now, because it was so unlike her. Or maybe it was just unlike the Kuki he was used to see, same as her not being used to see his rough side.

"I'm sorry." Kuki sighed, her shoulders slumping downward. "I guess I just worry about losing you because you're my best friend and I care about you."

"I care about you too." Wally defended. "You think I wouldn't have done for you what I did for Amber? I would."

"Not just that. I don't think Amber is one of those girls, I hope not anyways, but I guess I just don't want her to get between us."

Wally looked a little to Kuki, feeing how his tense body started loosing up and his eyes lost all of their anger. His head went from throbbing in frustration to suddenly spinning while he looked Kuki in the eyes. She looked upset and frightened, yet there was still that tint of a smile in her eyes and on her lips. It upset him in the strangest way and made his heart shatter while he felt a guilt settle in his stomach like a stone, before suddenly dragging his guts down which made him feel like he would fall to the ground, hard and helplessly.

Suddenly he found himself doing the strangest thing. Right inside of the school gates, in plain view of anyone getting off of the school busses, and despite him not being a touchy type, his body seemingly just acted on its own, and he blindly obeyed it. He felt himself take a step closer to Kuki, probably too quickly and too aggressively because she stepped back a little, but it could also because his eyes had grown determined which could be misinterpreted as murderous. His arms found their way around her shoulder and her upper back, as he pulled her in quickly and probably a little awkwardly and then he held her there in his unbreakable embrace, feeling her heart knock on his chest.

"I wouldn't let her." He muttered in her ear, holding her close. "You _are_ my best friend after all."

Kuki gently embraced him back getting lost in the comfort of Wally's strength and warmth. She could feel tears burning behind her eyes for some reason while her heart both picked up in speed and shattered all at once, while her throat started clogging. She was unsure and confused as to why she felt this way right now, why it felt like she had lost something dear and important to her when it was just Wally. She didn't have feelings towards him in any way as far as she knew, so why was it she suddenly felt she had to suppress a tremble and tears from falling?

Wally pulled away from her while clearing his throat a little, then he held her at an arms length and gave her a gentle smile which she returned with her own somewhat saddened one. Maybe it would be better for her to keep a bit of a distance to him just for today, to fully accept he had that strong—yet somewhat scary—side to him, willing to go through flames to protect his dear ones.

"Hello." Amber sang as she came to them, a bit of a jealous glimmer to her eye. After all Wally had told her yesterday that he was not a touchy type at all, yet here he was embracing Kuki. "What's going on?"

"Kuki was just a little worried." Wally muttered, stepping over to Amber and placing a peck on her forehead which seemed to calm her down.

"Worried about what?" Amber asked.

"Losing us I guess." Wally shrugged, giving Kuki a little smile.

"Yeah." She sighed, while shuffling a little. "You're both my closest friends and I guess I'm just a little worried you might forget about me because you're dating. Wally was just telling that neither you nor him would ever do that."

"Of course not." Amber gleamed. "If it makes you feel better, maybe I can try and introduce you to that Ace guy, don't know if you know him? He has a weird Mohawk kind of thing going on."

"I know him." Kuki smiled, remembering Ace from her childhood. They probably hadn't been incredibly close back then, which had made them almost complete strangers to each other. "I guess I wouldn't mind, I used to spend some time with him during my childhood. It's always nice to make new friends."

* * *

**2013 Rewrite. Originally written between October 21st 2010 - March 31st 2011. I hope you enjoyed this rewrite.**

**Criticism and/or advices on improvement is/are highly appreciated and welcome :)**

**~*~TippierCoffee~*~**


	9. Second discovery

**Author: TippierCoffee**

**Disclaimer: I do not own—nor do I claim the rights to—any of the characters from the show **_**Codename: Kids Next Door**_**. All credit goes to rightful owner: Mr. Tom Warburton.**

**LTLY series: 1. Learning To Love You; 2. Again; 3. Alone; 4. Ever After.**

**OBS: I gave Wally's parents names. Mum: Kayla Beetles, dad: Wilbert Beetles.**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

Second discovery.

Kuki strolled the hallway on her own, sharing the occasional glance with Ace. Talking to him again after so many years had been nice, but somehow she had found she wasn't interested in him in that way. She did feel a bit bad about that because they'd been spending a lot of time together after Amber had made them 'accidentally' bump into each other, maybe hoping she could get something romantically going with him, which had led her to accidentally lead him on. If just a bit.

He had even had her home for dinner one of the evenings where one of his cousins had been over for a visit. It was someone on his mother's side, who wasn't of Spanish descent, if his father was even Spanish. Kuki wasn't entirely sure as she had never seen Ace's father, so she didn't know if he really was half Spanish or if he just tossed in Spanish words in hopes to seem smooth and wow girls.

His cousin, Derick Marsh—however—had somehow ended up catching her interest without really meaning to. Something about him and Kuki had just clicked and they had started talking a lot together, leaving out a pissed Ace, who had spend the day after to mope about Kuki ogling over his cousin, which essentially had led to Kuki having to tell him the truth about how it was just something silly and pretentious. She was really sorry for having played him by accident, but at the very least she had realized and told, even if it had made him mad enough to ditch her.

Essentially she had just spend more time with her friends Abby, Rachel, Nigel and Hoagie. Nigel and Hoagie would every now and again go to the table where the soccer guys were seated, and sometime Nigel and Rachel would sit on their own and talk secretively together, while sneaking glances at each other and holding hands under the table. Kuki wasn't sure why they were trying to keep their relationship—or whatever it was—on a down low when their friends had figured out about it some time a go.

Wally would rarely go to 'their table' with Amber, mostly she would just take him to the 'cheerleaders table' and brag about how Wally had saved her, how heroic he was and this and that. It had started to bug him a little from what he had told Kuki, but he didn't really mention it much to Amber, because whenever he tried to she seemed to get a bit upset about it. In the end none of them had kept their promise well, though fair to say Wally at least tried harder than Amber, and still hung out with Kuki and had fun with her, and did things together with her, which they had dubbed 'their thing'. Like watching pointless romcoms together, playing the occasional video games, doing homework together and sharing stories about their siblings.

However Wally had started being with her on more rare occasions, because Amber one day had had a fit about how Wally only payed attention to Kuki and not her, which was a complete lie. From Kuki's perspective—and anyone else seeing it from the outside—Wally sometimes went out of his way and did things he didn't really enjoy doing, just to spend time with Amber. He even went out of his way and gave her extreme amounts of public affection, which had earned them a few yells of getting a room whenever Amber had gotten him to snog her. Not that Wally seemed to entirely mind it, but from the outside it was pretty easy to see he wasn't exactly comfortable doing it either just for the sake of Amber being able to brag about it, but he did it nonetheless.

"Hey girl." Abby said, snapping Kuki back to the real world where she sat on the benches and watched the soccer players practice while the cheerleaders cheered for them; probably because Amber had convinced them to so she could watch Wally.

"Hello." Kuki sighed, giving Abby a little smile.

"You seem down." Abby said concerned.

"I guess I'm just a bit upset that Amber ended up turning into one of those somewhat possessive girlfriends. She promised she wouldn't come in between Wally's and my friendship, but now he can hardly even look at me without her scolding him. It must be tiring for him I think, and I get a little lonely."

"There are always the rest of us, and that Derick guy you've been sending texts regularly; and don't go trying to deny it, Abby has seen you send him way too many texts." Abby gave Kuki a little wink while enjoying the blush on her face.

"Well, I guess we do have a bit of a thing going." Kuki admitted shyly. "That doesn't mean I don't miss my best friends. You're right though Abby, I still have the rest of you guys." She gave Abby a little smile of gratitude.

* * *

_Wednesday December 20, 10pm_

Christmas break was always something Wally had liked. It was the one break where his family always seemed to forgive everything and treat him a little better, and he had somehow also always found it in him to treat them better and with more gratitude. To be fair though, it was probably not until now he fully appreciated everything they'd ever done for him and realized that they deserved his gratitude and kinder behaviour on a yearly basis. Sure, he had a temper and they had never denied him that, all they had asked of him was to try and clear his head and think before acting, and they had always been right. They had more experience than him, so of course they were right, especially when it came to the fact that they at the very least deserved his respect. They didn't boss him around that much anymore, but he still knew they had the last word, they always would have as long as he lived home. They were his parents after all.

This break started out with him being at Amber's place however, at least until December twenty second where her parents would return from their business trip one day prior to the original plans, so they could buy a pine tree and decorate it for Christmas together, which they hadn't done in a long while.

He wasn't entirely sure what had possessed him to say yes when in reality he just wanted to be with his family too, but then he remembered that it of course had been because Amber had started making scenes about it. She had started talking about how he would rather be with Kuki than with her, even though he had said his family, and it wasn't exactly because he didn't love Amber, but he had enjoyed their relationship a _lot_ more in the start where she had been kinder. He wasn't sure why she had started behaving the way she had, but the longer they had been together—even though they had only been together shortly—the more obsessed and distrustful she seemed to have gotten.

He sat at her bed with her next to him, kissing her softly and as passionately as he could manage, though most of his passion for her was fading because of the way she treated him, but he couldn't really show her that. He felt a little trapped when he thought about breaking up with Amber, not so much because he though it would be overly hard to do, but because he knew Amber would start blabbering on and on about him having something going on with Kuki.

Amber stroked his neck softly, and while a part of him was truly feeling pleased because of the touch, he wasn't sure it actually turned him on. He didn't have much of a choice but to let her do what she wanted tough, so she let her deepen the kiss while climbing onto his lap and cupping his jaw. He guided his hands to the lower of her back to make both her and himself believe that there still was something there, because he _did_ like her—at least he thought he might.

She started moving a little on top of him, making him feel strangely uncomfortable, yet he still found he couldn't stop her. She proceeded to push him down and push him further onto her bed, he took it with a sinking feeling in his stomach while he let her do whatever she wanted. Just like she was used to.

He let her crawl her hands up his chest underneath his shirt while listening to her heavy breathing as she kept sucking on his tongue until he felt like he was being strangled, and a feeling of gratitude overflowed his mind when she left his mouth to suck on his neck. Not that he enjoyed either of them much, but at least like this he could breathe somewhat freely.

She rolled him onto his back while placing herself over him, and then she started guiding his hands along her shirt to take it off while she stuffed her tongue down his throat again, suffocating him all over. He could feel his hands stroking her sides and gracing her ribs right until they were touching the edge of her bra still being guided upwards to he breasts. He really didn't want to go there, he didn't even want to continue, so he found himself thinking _Screw this_ before pulling away and pushing her off of him. There was also the fact about what he had done to _her_, it sometimes made him tense even when he tried to please himself.

"I can't do this." He gasped, desperately taking in air in large heaves while trying to forget the unpleasant memory of Amber's skin against his hands. "It's too fats to be honest."

"What the hell?" Amber scoffed offended. "Are you a girl or something?"

"No, I'm a human being Amber!" He snapped, having had enough of her weird mood swings and attitude. "I swear you piss me off sometimes. If this had been you telling me you weren't completely ready yet, I'd have to accept it otherwise you would have gotten offended."

"I would not." She scoffed.

"No?" Wally challenged. "It seems these days you become upset no matter what I do. Can I do anything right in your eyes?"

"You could go through with what I want to do right now." She lectured, smiling mischievously at him, as though she thought he was joking around. "Stop being like that and show me you love me."

"Don't I show every day?" Wally muttered, sitting up with a bit of a frown. "This also isn't _your_ relationship, it's _our_ relationship. We both have to be ready for this and that, or whatever."

"You sound like a girl" Amber snorted with a smile, sitting up next to him while nibbling his neck. "Don't tell me you weren't excited."

"I never said I wasn't. " He sighed, partly out of annoyance and partly out of unwanted pleasure. "I just think we're moving too fast, even if that makes me sound like a cruddy sheila."

"You're so full of it." Amber teased, crawling to his side and pushing him back a little. "Bet you wouldn't be hesitant if I were Kuki."

"I wouldn't even be touching you like this if you were Kuki." He muttered annoyed, kissing her deeply, if nothing else then to shut her up.

However her reaction set him completely on edge and made him feel agitated once again. Her hands against his chest pushing him backwards, her tongue being shoved halfway down his throat, her hands clawing at his neck. He awkwardly tried to get up and away to breathe, tried to push her off to give her the picture that while he didn't exactly mind innocent cuddling this was too much, too suffocating. He kept wiggling under her weight until he somehow pushed her off of him, and he was just about to yell to her what the hell she thought she was doing when his head hit the shelve above her bed and send a picture tilting down to it; which in turn made Amber laugh hysterically at his misfortune.

"Didn't I just cruddy tell you to stop doing that?" He complained, rubbing his aching head.

"But you're so tasty." She whined playfully, looking to the picture that had fallen down, then her expression changed.

Wally followed her sorrowful eyes to the picture frame which she slowly picked up in her hands, watching the thick silver outline with roses decorated on it, he scooted a little closer, if nothing else then to make sure she was okay, otherwise he'd have to hear about that later on too. But when he saw the photograph inside the frame his heart skipped a beat and his eyes widened. He was quite sure he for a moment forgot how to breathe as he found his eyes fixating on the face which he wished he didn't know, but unfortunately it was far to familiar—the same picture as he had of her.

Her deep blue eyes glimmered in the lights, accompanying the magnificent Colgate smile she showed, and her blood red hair framed her face perfectly. It had been set up so part of it—which would have been her fringe if she'd had one—was pulled back and tied behind her head, exposing the glimmering circular earrings, with the bow at the outer line and two chains hanging from below the lower parts of the circles and stopping at the middle of her neck. Seeing her reminded him anew why Kris had chosen her in particular back then; she was absolutely stunning. With most things beautiful, however, came tragedy, and this was one tragedy Wally hated having in his mind.

Her voice screaming for help, which he could imagine clearly though he had never really heard it, her eyes begging for mercy which he could see visibly, though he had never actually seen them for real. His stomach started turning on itself, tying knots and pressing his dinner closer to his throat which was blocked by invisible barriers, his tears burned behind his eyes while his mind kept screaming at him that he couldn't break down here in front of Amber because she would ask, and he would have to tell.

"Wh-who's that?" He found himself stuttering in a low voice. "If you don't mind telling of course."

"This?" Amber said, a saddened expression upon her lips, her body slumped together. All of her lust seemed gone almost as fast as it had come—if not faster. "She's my… _Was_ my cousin."

Wally felt how his throat went dry as a desert and he had to swallow hard, hoping to get some air down as well when he heard that. He could practically feel the vomit pressing on in his throat.

"Was?" he asked, heaving to get air, although he tried desperately not to let her hear it.

"Some pricks though it would be funny to hurt her badly." Amber said with a shaking voice. "I don't feel like talking about it."

"Okay." Wally mumbled, observing her put the picture back in place with shaking hands then she lay down to sleep, and even though Amber was getting on his nerves he didn't exactly dislike her, so he decided that he would hold her close. Just for tonight.

* * *

_Wally and Amber were going for a walk in the heated midsummer, the sun was embracing them warmly brightening their moods which were already high because they for once didn't quarrel. Wally found himself smiling gratefully at Amber who send him a warmhearted laughter, a laughter that sounded differently than her own but he couldn't really place who she sounded like._

_He put his arm around her and pecked her cheek, which caused her to turn her head and kiss him softly, just the way she was supposed to. Not too heated not too suffocating, but soft and careful giving him room to agree on deepening it. He was just about to do it when a sudden mist started spreading over the ground and the weather got colder. Winds started blowing around them chilling them to the bone and suddenly they got transported to a far away forest which Wally found eerily recognizable._

"_Where are we?" Amber asked, stepping closer to Wally so she wouldn't freeze._

"_I'm not sure." He muttered, holding her closer into him. "Let's try and see if we can find a way out though."_

_They shuffled through the forest, its ground suddenly covered by brown fallen leaves and a thin layer of frost, the cold seemed to bite at their skin so they stepped a little closer still while everything went colder. In the distance, mixed with the whistling winds, they could hear subtle careful footsteps coming closer to them. It caused Amber to take a firmer hold of Wally whose heart was hammering so loudly in his ears it had become the only sound there. He knew who it was from the moment he had seen the silhouette's blood red hair. Unfortunately for him, so did Amber._

"_Rosalind?" She asked breathlessly, tears springing to her eyes; however it didn't seem like the girl heard her. It was as though she was walking around, looking for something, or someone. "Rose?"_

_By the sound of her nickname Rose raised her head and turned it to looks at them. Wally couldn't make out her face from here, he could hardly even make out her silhouette, so he guessed the same went for her. He couldn't do anything, safe from watching as Rose stepped closer and closer to where him and Amber were so she could make out who they were. From what he could tell, her eyes were glued to Amber; for now._

"_Amber." She breath out with a gentle smile, when she finally got close enough to properly see them._

"_Rose…" Amber breath, tears starting to stream out of her eyes. "Rose."_

_Rose just simply smiled at the speechless Amber, who kept looking to her not understanding how this all was possible. Amber started trembling as tears of joy began falling out of her eyes. For a moment the two of them just stood there, exchanging glances and smiles, as if that was all they needed to do to catch up on lost time, but when Wally saw Amber was trembling so vehemently, that she was about to fall he felt his legs move, and before he knew of it he was by her side holding her upright. He could sense Rose's warm eyes turn cold as her smile turned into a deep frown._

"_Amber. What are you doing with him?" She asked coldly, catching Amber's attention who looked confused between Wally and Rose. "Don't you know who he is? What he did?"_

"_Don't" Wally heard himself whisper, but it was to no avail._

_Before he could even get to blink or understand what was happening around him the scenery changed once again, taking them deeper into the cold forest while clearing the fog. They got to an isolated shag, which stood alone in a place where anyone seldom came, and no one would be able to hear if anyone let out a scream, and between the fallen leaves lay Rose's body. Above her stood a blonde haired boy, laughing his head off as he stabbed her repeatedly with a glimmer of insanity in his emerald eyes._

_Wally stood paralyzed watching his younger self stab Rose with a cackle, enjoying as the life left her, and next to him Amber stood just as paralyzed and just as speechless, and just as unable to breathe. She looked from the younger Wally to Wally beside her, and suddenly she stepped away from him with trembling legs and a quivering bottom lip, her breaths coming out in heavy wheezes as she cried silently out of fear and spite. Her head started turning red while her veins began throbbing visibly in it and on her neck, then she pointed to Wally, while her horrified expression turned into one of pure hatred._

"_You, you!" she spat, breathing in heavily through her nose._

"_No." Wally cried desperately, watching Rose's ghost soar up next to Amber, while winds started picking up beside her, creating a typhoon around the two of them. "Amber you've got to believe me! I didn't do that, I would never. I swear, I promise, I didn't touch your cousin!"_

"_Promise?" Rose spat with a sneer, while she seemed to start falling apart, her stab wounds opening on her torso. Then she flew right in front of Wally's face and screamed with all of her might. "You promised!"_

_Wally covered his ears from Rose's scream, from the wheezing winds, but then he heard something else. Amber's scream. It was somewhere in front of him accompanied by the laughter of three guys, and even though Rose was still in front of him—and for some reason was trying to hold him back—he found himself pushing his way through the winds. As though they were hands holding onto him, shoving him, falling through him and chilling everything inside him . His ears stated ringing because of the many sounds mixing together, so much that it felt like he was going deaf because suddenly every sound, sounded the same way they would if he was submerged under water._

"_Amber!" He screamed as he kept pushing through, right until he saw her silhouette laying on the ground, surrounded by three guys. Three guys he recognized, not because of TV, but because he'd known them. "Stop it! Please!"_

_They just laughed at his pleas, watching as he fell to the ground and had to crawl, his body exhausted and his head spinning. He would faint soon, unable to save Amber, just as he had been unable to save Rose. He couldn't breathe._

_A choir of voices joined everything, both Amber's and Rose's voice being the ones he could hear the best. They stood around him while the winds seemed to tears of his clothes, but everything was so loud and painful, he had to cover his ears, had to curl together into a ball, voices laughing and pointing, before in unison they started screaming in a sing-song-manner._

"_Liar, liar, liar, liar!" Louder and louder, until Wally couldn't take it and let out a scream in agony, being lifted up somewhere by Rose. So high he couldn't see the ground, so painful he was going numb. He was sure this was the closest he would get to know what it felt like to freeze to death._

_He observed Rose's dead eyes, staring at him from her dead face, tears of blood streaming out, while she lifted him higher and higher, her hands on his shoulders. He knew what she wanted to do next, knew what she was planning probably before she even knew._

"_Please." He heard himself say weakly, tears springing to his eyes. "I didn't know, I swear. I thought they'd leave you alone."_

"_You promised." She cried weakly, then she started pushing them down with a furious speed, and Wally heard his terrified scream mix with Rose's painful one, as he fell, fell, fell, fell.._

* * *

He was woken abruptly when he landed on the floor in Amber's room, Amber looking to him with worried eyes. He took a second to look around, trying to orientate himself, but once he caught Amber's eyes, it was like everything he'd just discovered and dreamed came crashing down on him, and he couldn't handle it. He crawled shakily, with cold sweat gracing his entire body, to the toilet where he started coughing vehemently right until his stomach rid him of his dinner.

"Wally?" Amber asked concerned. "What happened? You started screaming and now…"

She looked to him while he wiped his mouth with a piece of toilet paper, his body still trembling below him. He looked to her with weak eyes, hardly able to breathe, the sweat hailing off of his body and was just about to answer her, but something within him changed her into Rose, and he found himself vomiting all over again.

"Baby, you're sick." Amber whined lowly, stroking his back softly. He wasn't really sure if he liked it or found it uncomfortable, but it reminded him of why he was still sticking around as her boyfriend. She _was_ a nice girl after all.

"I'm sorry." He moaned weakly. "I might have to go home… I promised too." _You promised_. He found his stomach turning again, making his throat and nostrils burn.

"Nonsense." Amber comforted softly, stroking his back. "I shouldn't keep you like this."

"But…" He looked to her gentle eyes, feeling like he somehow fell all over for her again. The way she looked at him reminded him so much of… Of who?

"No buts." She smiled. "Let me drive you home."

* * *

_Thursday December 21st, 11am._

Wally looked into his ceiling not feeling too hot under the weather. He hadn't been able to sleep at all the night before, after Amber had dropped him of at his house somewhere around midnight. He remembered how she'd helped him up to his room, stripping him down to his boxers before finding out a tank top for his upper body which she put on him, then she'd stroked his hair and kissed his forehead softly—almost like a mother caring for her sick child.

She'd left again after that, probably not locking the door, which had also been one of the things to keep Wally up all night, but it was not the main thing. He'd heard her leave, then ten minutes had passed of so before she had send him a text message telling him to get better soon.

He sighed heavily while his head debated and spun on itself. He didn't hate Amber, not at all, but maybe he didn't love her either? He honestly didn't know anymore, not about his feelings right now or whether or not they had been true to start with. Was he just fooling himself and Amber as well? Why had he fallen for her again? He tried to think back to what had made him feel some sort of affection for Amber, it had been because, because…

-_Because she wasn't scared of me after I fought_- He reminded himself.

That had been the reason he had started feeling something towards Amber, something deeper than friendship. It was an affection for sure, but maybe it had all just been an infatuation, or some sort of crush, that had gone overboard. He needed to really find out inside of himself why he liked Amber, _if_ he liked Amber. It was so impossible when he kept seeing Rose whenever he though of Amber; impossible when his mind kept screaming at him that he missed hanging out with Kuki. He had abandoned her too hadn't he? Both him and Amber, although mostly Amber. What kind of friend was he?

Tiredly, with a little sigh, he felt himself fishing for his phone in the left pocket of his pants, then he proceeded to pull on some clothes before staring emptily at the screen. He shuffled around on his phone for a while, reading through the texts he had shared with Kuki, feeling a smile creep over his lips. He missed those days with her, those wonderful days when they'd sit on that stupid worn out couch and fight over the remote.

-_When did that happen?_- He felt like something was missing, but he couldn't really figure it out. He knew he had just been imagining him and Kuki fighting over a remote control, but they had never done that—maybe he wanted to do that with her her though? He gave out one last sigh and started typing on his phone.

_I miss you…_ He didn't know why, but that was what he ended up writing and sending her. What a stupid thing to send, she would laugh at him for sure, because he sounded like a cruddy girl right now. He was just about to put away his phone when he got a reply.

_I miss you too :(_

_It's been a while_, he wrote, _think you can come over or something?_

_I thought you were at Amber's?_ She replied.

_Fell ill and had to go home. I feel a little better I think, figured I'd ask if you wanted to hang out._ This sounded dumb and needy even to him, he couldn't really imagine Kuki would actually say yes. He had neglected her so many times, it seemed, since he and Amber had started dating, so why would she even consider coming over now?

_I'll be there in two_ Came her reply. Wally reread the text at least five times to make sure his eyes hadn't fooled him, which it turned out they hadn't, because only about one minute got to pass before he heard a knocking on the front door.

"I'll get it!" Wally called, jogging to the door and opening it.

When he opened and stood face to face with Kuki, whose smile was a mixture of happiness and hurt, he could feel his heart starting to pound hard against his chest while shattering all at once. It had been at least two weeks since they had spend time together after school if he remembered correctly, it must have been so difficult and hard for her to lose two of her best friends just like that.

He stepped aside while holding the door, gesturing for her to step inside, watching her as she did so with her small smile still planted upon her lips. He missed the smile he was used to see on her, the one that went from ear to ear and seemed to brighten up the world around her. He watched her take of her coat which she hadn't eve closed and her shoes, which she hadn't even tied. When he was satisfied she was done he took a hold of her shoulders while giving her an uncertain smile which she returned. He saw how her smile brightened and felt like everything that had shattered started healing, but it still hurt in his chest; hurt to know he had left her so alone.

Without thinking he pulled her closer into him and embraced her tightly, holding her steady while letting her pull at his clothes as if she was scared to lose him again if she let go, which he wouldn't blame her for. He held her a little closer too, let her cry silently into his shoulders, or was she laughing?

"I'm sorry." He muttered, stroking her hair carefully. "Sorry for leaving you alone."

"That's okay." She chirped with a little laughter. "None of us thought Amber would turn into one of those possessive types. At least you tried harder than her, who seems to just have wanted to hook me up with Ace so we could double date."

Wally gave a little snort, feeling some of his affection for Amber oozing out once again. He couldn't believe Amber had actually wanted to hook Kuki up with anyone, just for the sake of double dating. As if she suddenly needed that as an excuse to even see Kuki, when Kuki was one of her best friends.

"You know." Kuki said, breaking the hug with a smile. "I recently got a new romcom."

She fished a DVD up from a bag Wally hadn't even noticed her having until now, but seeing it made him laugh warmheartedly and forget all of his bad fortune for just a moment. At least they would still have their little rituals and at least Kuki had prepared for something, which was more than he could really say. But he did want to show her something, after the romcom.

* * *

**2013 Rewrite. Originally written between October 21st 2010 - March 31st 2011. I hope you enjoyed this rewrite.**

**Criticism and/or advices on improvement is/are highly appreciated and welcome :)**

**~*~TippierCoffee~*~**


	10. Truths and sins I

**Author: TippierCoffee**

**Disclaimer: I do not own—nor do I claim the rights to—any of the characters from the show **_**Codename: Kids Next Door**_**. All credit goes to rightful owner: Mr. Tom Warburton.**

**LTLY series: 1. Learning To Love You; 2. Again; 3. Alone; 4. Ever After.**

**OBS: I gave Wally's parents names. Mum: Kayla Beetles, dad: Wilbert Beetles.**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

Truths and sins I.

He watched the credits while for some strange reason enjoying that Kuki had rested her hands and head on his shoulder. It was warm, comfortable and he didn't want her to leave right away. He remembered Amber doing something like this once, and even though it of course had been somewhat comfortable and warm because of the body heat, it hadn't made him feel warm in exactly the same way Kuki made him feel. He could feel his heart race in his chest somewhere, sending his blood circulating and boiling, but in a good way.

"We're friends, right?" He didn't know why he had asked, or why he'd had a need to ask, he just did.

"Of course we are silly." Kuki giggled making his cheeks burn to such an extend he found he had to suck them in to cool them down—however illogical that might seem.

He carefully pushed her off and looked at her for a while, letting her smile become the only thing he could focus on for at least two seconds, then he let out a heavy sigh and stopped the movie. He turned off the television ad reached out his hand for her, a little smile subtly working its way to his lips, but inside he was terrified. A part of him also couldn't let go of her words about some guy she somehow had met, who was one year older than both of them and whose name was Derick Marsh. He somehow hated how offended she had become when he had made fun of Derick's name and called him mars man and marshmallow, which he wasn't entirely sure why he had done.

Kuki cocked her head a little to the side, her smile turning from confused to amused, her eyes full of question and Wally found he exhaled with a light chuckle while shaking his head subtly. Kuki would always be Kuki.

"I want to show you something." He said, pushing the last of his doubts aside. Kuki might have gotten frightened of him back when he defended Amber, if just for a moment, but if there was anyone he felt he could trust this with it was Kuki.

"Okay." She chirped, taking a hold of his hand, and together they walked upstairs, headed for Wally's room.

Kuki could feel her heart speed up while she became breathless ad her throat went dry. Her entire head seemed to be buzzing, and her excitement only grew the closer she came to Wally's room, which she had never been to. She felt him tighten the grip around her hand when they stood in front of his room and a look of hesitation flew across his face briefly before he turned to her with begging eyes.

"I hope you won't be scared away by this." He muttered uncertainly, then he opened the door carefully, with his trembling free hand.

He let her inside, her anticipation still rising, but once she was inside she felt how her hopes shattered. She looked around with a small pout on her lips, having expected more than a well kept room, while he placed her on his bed, giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze before he went to close the door. Wally then proceeded to roaming around one of the shelves of his remade dresser drawer.

"I hope this won't ruin anything between us." He murmured while finding out different files. "I also need to apologize for getting mad with yo when you didn't tell I scared you, because I haven't told you everything either, but this especially. You'll be the first to know, I hope you won't tell."

Kuki just looked confused while he found out file after file until there were five of them, flipping through them and putting one to the side. He then took down two pictures, where in between, he had put some sort of banner that said _Remember_. Remember what Kuki didn't know, but she guessed it had to do with the two pictures he put on top of the file he'd put away—the backside of the pictures up—as he doubtfully handed her the remaining four files. Kuki took them with curiosity painted all over her face, while Wally sat down next to her.

"What's this?" She asked with amusement.

"Just look it through." He murmured, caressing the fifth file on his lap while looking to the pictures on his left. "You can ask questions later."

Kuki wasn't sure how she felt about that, but she decided to obey nonetheless and opened the first file while thinking it must be something pretty amazing if this was the reason Wally never let anyone inside his room. However, her smile faltered a little when she saw the familiar face in the photograph, of a Caucasian male, with dark brown—almost black—hair, and dark brown eyes, while she remembered how he had been on TV more than one and a half year ago.

_Kristopher 'Kris' Workman. Height: 175 cm. Wight: 80 kg. Crime: Destruction of private property, destruction of public property, multiple thefts, harassment of officers, kidnapping, first degree manslaughter, molestation, necrophilia. Sentence: Found guilty of every charge, imprisonment for ten years, later a debate will be carried out regarding death sentence._

Kuki closed the file again, feeling like her face was going pale, and she was just about to ask Wally what he was doing with this file when she remembered his words. _Just read it and ask later_, so she pushed her questions aside and opened the next file. This contained a picture of an ebony male, with dark brown eyes, and short black hair.

_Cory Bender. Height: 172 cm. Weight: 71 kg. Crime: Destruction of private property, destruction of public property, multiple thefts, harassment of officers, kidnapping, first degree manslaughter, molestation, necrophilia._

Exactly the same as Kristopher, and his sentence was also the same. Kuki flipped to the next file which had a picture of Caucasian male with dark blonde—almost brown—hair and medium blue eyes.

_Jeffery 'Jeff' Murphy. Height: 172.5 cm. Weight: 75 kg._ His crime and sentence were the same as the two others.

Kuki then looked to the very last file she had in her lap, then she shifted her eyes to Wally who kept looking to his lap with the fifth file in it. She could feel how all of her nerves were on edge and her heart started hammering hard against her rib cage. She swallowed hard and inhaled noisily through her nose before opening the last file with shaking hands. When she saw the picture she felt how her body slumped together in relief, accompanied by a deep sigh, as everything within her started functioning normally again. It was a picture of a guy who looked almost identical to Kristopher, except he looked much older.

_Drew Workman. Height: 182.5 cm. Weight: 92.5 kg. Crime: Manipulation of crime scenes, manipulation of important evidence, accomplice in various crimes. Sentence: five years imprisonment._

Kuki looked to Wally feeling herself fill up with curiosity all over again. Why _did_ Wally have this, it didn't seem it had anything to do with him, but when he met her eyes something in them seemed to be pleading for her forgiveness, as though he had been the mastermind behind everything. He took the very last file, looking to it with sad and uncertain eyes, his body trembling below him and tears glassing his emerald eyes. He breath in through his nose once, then twice, then he guided the file towards Kuki while looking away from her, as though its contents meant he would never be able to look her in the eyes again. _Please don't be scared of me_ he had said, giving her a forecasting feeling as she accepted the file and opened it.

It was him. Her heart sank and she could feel tears springing to her eyes, blinding her. It was Wally, no doubt about it. The same thin bowl cut blonde hair, the same emerald eyes, the same somewhat stumpy nose. All she could see in difference was his face which was a bit rounder in this picture, and his eyes which looked tired and upset. Though it was more than that; he looked so guilty it was unbearable.

_Wallabee 'Wally' Beetles. Height: 158 cm. Weight: 55 kg. Crime: Destruction of private property, destruction of public property, multiple thefts, harassment of officers. Sentence: Two years imprisonment (cooperation) — shortened by half a year for good behaviour._

"Wally?" Kuki's voice was groggy and full of hurt, her tears pressing closer. So close it felt like her eyeballs were going to pop. "What is this?"

Wally didn't answer, he didn't even look at her. Instead he just showed her the two photographs of two different persons. A young boy and a young female; the boy Kuki couldn't really recall, though seeing his name made her feel like she'd heard of him, but the young female she knew almost too much about. She read the small slips of paper Wally had put at the bottom of the photographies inside the frame. In the female's photo the note read: _Rosalind 'Rose' Claudine. Dead March 20th, 2005._ In the boy's photo the note read: _Wallace Foster. Dead March 21st, 2005._

"Have you ever done something terrible in your life that you wish you could undo?" He asked, trembling vehemently while tears fell down his cheeks, silently yet somehow gracefully.

"Yes." Kuki whispered, remembering all the horrible things she would sometimes say to her sister or parents when really angered, and then later wish she had never said such things and could take it back. Erase it.

"This is my biggest regret." Wally sobbed, finally looking into her eyes. "This is what I have to live with for the rest of my life because I was too late, because I was too scared, because I was so trapped. Because of me…" He heaved in while his body started to tremble even harder, sending him straight into Kuki who held him as steady as she could. "Because of me they died. Because I was too late to save them."

Kuki started, somewhat awkwardly, stroking Wally's hair telling herself he was not a bad guy, and surely it wasn't his fault. But all of this suggested he had had some sort of involvement in the death of Amber's cousin. Poor, poor Amber. Kuki wondered if Wally had told her, but there was no way in hell Amber would ever forgive him if he had. Most likely she would probably have called the police and made up a story to get Wally in prison, because Amber _hated_ the fourth guy—as people called him—with such a burning passion it was almost scary.

"Why don't you tell me the story?" She heard herself ask him, even though she was unsure about whether or not she was actually ready for it. There was just something that told her Wally needed to tell this to at least one friend, especially if he had found out about Rose being Amber's cousin, which seemed to be the case.

"Amber will hate me now." He cried, maybe not so bothered by her hating him as he was about what he had done. "I don't even know what to tell her, but I can't tell her the truth. I never can."

"But you _can_ tell me." Kuki comforted him.

"Are you sure?" He sobbed, looking to her with such sad eyes, it broke her heart into pieces. "You have to swear to me that you will never tell anyone ever. I don't want to live my life being scared and getting death threats again."

"I swear." She whispered, showing Wally her pinky which he took with his own, making an unbreakable pinky swear which gave Wally confidence enough to pour out his darkest secret to her. The one thing he wished he had never been involved in, in the way that he had. Because Kuki would _never_ tell, she was a girl of her word and Wally knew that.

"I hope you're ready for this." He mumbled, sitting up a little straighter, though never fully leaving her safe embrace. Although he found it hard to imagine how Kuki could ever be ready to hear this, when he was hardly even ready to tell it, but he needed to. He wanted to. So he braced himself, with one last deep inhale before telling Kuki everything.

* * *

_Two years prior; 2004…_

_Monday August 16th, 8am._

Fourteen-year-old Wally stepped out of his mother's car with annoyance painted all over his face. He hated everything about his life right now, sure he could see why there were reasons to maybe be happy, his dad _did_ get promoted and all. If only they had been able to stay in Cleveland, but unfortunately the promotion meant his dad got transfered as well, so far away from Cleveland it had taken them the better of _two days_ to get here by car!

Who even transfered someone, all the way from Cleveland, Ohio to cruddy Lincoln, Nebraska? It wasn't fair that Wally had to be torn away from everything he knew since he was three-and-a-half-years-old. He had lived in Cleveland for like ten years, with both of his parents, whereas Joey had only been there about seven years. Though it still did seem to upset the younger of them, who had successfully made many friends back in Cleveland.

That was another thing. Even though Wally by no means was popular he had made some friends. Maybe not goody-good-children, but they were friends. Staying here would most likely make him forget them though, just like he had forgotten his childhood from at least age seven till thirteen—most of it anyways.

He looked out the car window at the school stretching out in front of him, he'd forgotten its name already, maybe because he didn't care at all. He let out a loud huff and sat back in his seat with his arms crossed over his chest, not looking forward to people teasing him about only being a hundred and fifty centimeters tall. He was practically a dwarf compared to everybody else!

"Now watch yourself and behave Wallabee." His mother lectured from the driver's seat.

"Whatever." Wally grumbled, unbuckling his seatbelt with an annoyed scowl.

"And watch that attitude young man!" His mum yelled after him while he stepped out of the car, slamming the door behind him and waving as she drove off.

"Tsh!" Wally spat, before mimicking her in a mocking manner. "And watch that attitude young man… Cruddy transfer."

* * *

_Recess_

Wally was being pulled along to an empty part of the school's courtyard by two guys from his won class, right behind them were three guys from a neighbouring class, all laughing about how Wally struggled to get himself down to the ground, as he was being lifted by the two guys from his class.

"What's the matter _Wallbee_?" One of them asked, saying his full name in a mocking manner. "Mummy got your schools mixed up?"

The five of them laughed when Wally fell to the ground after the two released him. They stood there pointing at the ill tempered Australian boy, whose fuse was just about to run out which would cause him to explode, and he would enjoy their faces then when they were all defeated by him.

"PS" Another guy said, stopping the laughters for a moment. "Kindergarten is _that way_!" They all cried out in hysterical fits of laughter, while Wally observed the guy who had just insulted him, watching his finger pointing in some random direction.

That was it, he was done. No more nice guy if there ever had been such a thing inside of him. He had been bored to death all day by the teachers, which was one thing in itself, but being harassed by dork like theses guys? That was not going to continue or ever happen again. With one swift move Wally found himself kicking one guy's knee—right were the reflex was—which caused him to crumble down, and when he did Wally introduced his fist to the guy's jaw.

It wasn't long after that until the four other guys jumped to that-one-guy-with-the-now-broken-jaw's rescue, only they didn't think that Wally would be using his height to his advantage. That was one thing he had taught himself over the years of being much shorter than average; people would think you were weak or an easy target because you were short, well he'd show them.

He wasn't really sure who's fist was whose, other than his own, and even though he could feel the jabbing pain of fists and feet ramming into him, he kept bouncing around and tossing violent punches, while kicking groins because his height was convenient enough to land his kicks around there at least. He wasn't sure how much time went by like this, maybe three minutes, but at a point he found himself standing victorious with a bloody lip, a bruised eye, nose blood, and knuckles that were starting to get swollen. It didn't matter, because his knuckles had _their_ blood on them, and they were laying on the ground and whining, having been beat by a short guy who was outnumbered, one to five.

He stood for a while huffing and puffing before he spat on the ground with a sneer, watching the five guys look to him with surprised eyes. He could see it on them, they knew they were defeated. They were out of energy, which was a thing Wally sometimes had too much of if one should believe his mother. He tried his best to hold back a laughter when he saw the five guys limp away, their heads hanging low, mumbling something about him being a psychopath. He didn't care; he'd won.

"That's what you get for messing with me!" Wally spat, his yell probably not reaching their ears. He didn't care, he just needed this out of his system. He would boast about this for days if he had to, he was allowed to.

Someone clapping their hands slowly, yet loud enough to echo against the walls, made Wally turn his head just to see three guys stepping up to him. He cleansed his fists and readied himself for another fight; he would do it if he had to. If nothing else, then to prove that no one could mess with him, because he _was_ strong, he had trained to be strong, trained to survive.

"I'm impressed." The guy who had been clapping his hands said with an amused voice, though it held an eerie undertone to it. His dark eyes sparkled with something Wally couldn't quite place what was, while one of his hands found its way up to fix his hairdo.

"You come to mock me princess?" Wally spat, taking a step closer to the guy who was clearly the leader. "Because I'm really not in the mood."

"Not at all." The guy said calmly, his two friends glaring Wally up and down—as if contemplating whether or not they should hurt him for talking like that to their leader. "Just stating my mind here."

Silence fell over them for a moment, Wally not once getting out of his ready position, although he did eye the gang. The dark-haired guy with the almost just as dark eyes, who was the leader. The one with the dark blonde—almost brown—hair, and the black guy.

"I'm Kristopher Workman." The dark-haired guy sneered. "But if you don't want to get punched you call me Kris."

Kris presented his hand to Wally, his posture not faltering one bit. Where as Wally stood a little crouched over, still ready to punch the guy if he tried anything, Kris carried himself with his back straight and his chin high, a constant lopsided, somewhat unsettling smile, on his lips.

"Well?" Kris asked, bouncing his hand a little, as if he thought he deserved to have his hand shaken by everyone in the world. Wally straightened himself, staring at the hand before slapping it away.

"Wally Beetles." He introduced himself, avoiding using his full name. He did not need more people to tease him about it, or call it adorable for that matter. "I don't want to cruddy shake you hand."

"Why you—" the ivory guy hissed, a vein popping into visibility on his forehead.

"It's okay Cory." Kris said calmly, which made Cory step back. "Beetles…" He then muttered. "I like that name, can I call you that?"

"Sure, whatever." Wally shrugged, not that he really planned on sticking around with the three of them as far as he knew.

"Cool." Kris smiled, almost too sweetly for Wally's liking. "This is Cory" he gestured to the ivory guy, "and this is Jeff."

Wally gave the two of them a short nod, although they both seemed tense and in disbelief that Kris would ever forgive anyone for talking to him the way Wally had. It was fine by Wally, he wasn't really looking to soften up to them either anytime soon, at least he didn't think so.

* * *

Two months passed without anyone really noticing it much. Wally had ended up getting used to Kris and his gang, after Kris had bugged him endlessly for almost a week. Back then Wally had thought Kris seemed like a lovestruck girl, and he was almost about to call out on him for being gay more than once. As if a fagotty douche was going to get anywhere near Wally if he was in love with him.

In the end he had found out Kris just genuinely wanted some sort of friendship with Wally, because he _had_ been impressed by his fighting skills and the way he could stand up to himself. When Cory and Jeff had finally softened up to him, and won his trust, the two of them had shared storied about meeting Kris too. It seemed both of them had some sort of skill which Kris really liked—a strength.

So two months had passed with Wally hanging out with the three of them, harassing students here and there, stealing lunch money when they could, pushing around some of the nerdy kids, because they were dweeps. He had found he also skipped school quite often with Kris and his gang, strolling aimlessly around, occasionally whistling after girls who were two or three years older than them because they were hot. Sometimes they would chat one of the hot girls up, which would make her seem a bit uncomfortable, but it didn't matter, she could just stop showing off her cleavage and practically ask for that kind of attention. Though maybe she felt uncomfortable because she was hoping for some older guys, Wally didn't really know, nor did he really care, he was having fun so all was good as far as he was concerned.

Although at home life had become a hell. His mother was almost blowing up like a bomb at his absence and the many trips to the principals office, even his dad who he had a close bond to was starting to show his disappointment, and many nights he could hear them having low heated discussions about what to do to turn Wally and his behaviour around. As if he wasn't good enough the way he was. So what if he liked a little freedom, and liked feeling like the king of the universe, was that so bad? Wasn't he allowed to be confident, even if it meant other people might not necessarily like him a lot? People were always jealous of other people who were confident, because they were confident and everybody wants to be like that.

Sometimes when his mother yelled at him, and scolded him, and he had to actually attend school to make her shut the curd up, he wished she would be more like Kris' parents. He actually wish both his parents would.

Kris' parents always left him alone and let him do whatever he wanted, they never stopped him or scolded him or anything. Wally knew this because he had been at Kris' place, and Kris' parents just ignored Kris and everything he did, it was so awesome and freeing. If more parents would just be like that, instead of sticking their nose in their kids business whenever. Kris also had such a cool older brother, who was like twenty six and worked with the police—his name was Drew. Wally honestly didn't know why Drew still lived at home though, probably because he was practically left be just like Kris.

One of the things Wally liked to do the most with Kris and his gang, though, was probably paint graffiti on random walls and yell after police officers who weren't Drew. Because Drew was one of a kind, who was really cool, and he'd even let them ride around in his car, sirens and all. Not so much because he was an artist, but he honestly found chatting up girls really boring, because he was about as interested in girls as he was in school—which was not at all.

* * *

_2005…_

_March 6th, 2.30am_

Pebbles were tossed at Wally's windows with subtle clicks, which only woke him because one of them sounded like it cracked his window. He rubbed his eyes lazily and sat up, ruffling his hair while smacking his lips because he was thirsty. He pulled away the curtains just to be greeted by another pebble being tossed at his window, right in front of his left eye.

Grumpily and slightly disorientated he opened the window and looked down, having to squint his eyes to see the three figures dressed in all black. One of them bend down looking for another pebble, but when he straightened up again to throw it his expression changed and he let out a small yell.

"Beetles!" It was Kris, chirpier than Wally could remember having seen him before. "I was just about to climb the wall and crash your window sleeping beauty."

Cory and Jeff started laughing at Kris' lame joke which had made Wally roll his eyes, although he also found himself hushing all three of them. While they weren't exactly loud, they weren't entirely quiet either, and he risked his parents being woken by the three of them if they weren't a little more careful.

"Quiet down will you?" He hissed, looking back into his room to make sure. "If you wake up my parents I'll have hell coming my way, and I'm not cruddy interested in that!"

"Aw, mummy's boy." Kris teased, Cory and Jeff strangulating their chuckles. "Get your touche down here Beetles, we're going out to have some fun."

Wally looked to his alarm clock, feeling an annoyance beyond compare come over him when he saw it was two thirty in the morning.

"Now?" He moaned in disbelief.

"No tomorrow." Kris snorted sarcastically before changing his tone. "Yes now Beetles. Hurry up before I come up there! Oh, and find some black clothes."

"And a bag!" Cory added.

Wally sighed one last time before rolling his eyes, jumping off his bed to find whatever black clothes he owned—which was limited it seemed, but he _did_ find some. He found a small east pack he had somehow found in his possession and swung it over his shoulders, then he locked his door form the inside and jumped out of his window, making sure to land safely on the ground.

"Good to have you aboard Beetles." Kris cheered in a whisper while padding Wally's shoulder shortly, then he took off while gesturing for the others to follow, which they did.

* * *

"So, where to?" Wally asked, after they had walked for a while, seemingly aimlessly. He didn't even know what time it was because his phone was at home—no way his mum was going to call if she somehow saw he wasn't in his room.

"A bank." Kris said excitedly, bouncing an unlit cigarette between his lips.

"What the crud would we do at a bank?" Wally scoffed. "Not like any of us have credit cards, and all banks are closed."

His response was the three others laughing out loud, their voices breaking the silence of the night and echoing throughout the streets. It made him realize that so far, he was actually the only one who didn't know what they were doing yet, because he hadn't been told yet. He couldn't quite figure out why though, he had followed the three of them almost too loyally for his own liking, though to spare his ears from his mother's grinding voice and his father's lectures, he had started attending school a lot more than the other three.

"Really Beetles?" Jeff sneered. "You think we're going to draw money or something?" His comment made Cory laugh even harder, while Kris almost doubled over and looked like someone who would vomit from amusement alone.

"What's so fucking funny?!" Wally roared irritated, making the three stop laughing at an instant.

"Hey not so loud Beetles." Kris grinned wit a demanding voice. "Are you planning to wake up the neighbourhood?"

"First of all, if the neighbouhood was going to be woken by anything, it would be you guyses laughter. Second of all, don't tell me what I can or can't do." Wally scoffed, giving Kris a challenging look.

Kris might be the self proclaimed leader of this group, or whatever it was, and ultimately he seemed to make the final calls. That didn't mean Wally would let Kris boss him around in any way, or that he would always blindly follow what he had planned now. Like checking out girls, he didn't do that anymore with the three of them, because he found it boring. Then rather play a video game with his brother because that was actually enjoyable.

Wally found defying Kris like this, though, turned out to be a huge mistake. He didn't even get to blink, protect himself, or register what was going on before he found himself pinned against the wall by Kris who was at least five centimeters taller than himself. Not only was he pushed back first against a cold stone wall, but Kris also had a gun pointed straight at his template making his heartbeat stop for a moment.

Wally could feel how a hiccup got caught in his throat almost choking him, while his body started trembling subtly underneath him, although he did all he could to not let his fear show. He cleansed both his fists and jaw while breathing heavily through his nose, and looking into Kris' cold eyes. They showed every sign of intent, as well as the fact that Kris probably couldn't care less if Wally lived or died.

"The only one giving orders around here, Beetles, is me." Kris snapped in a murderous whisper, inching his head closer to Wally's while pulling the trigger.

Wally closed his eyes with a small sound he wasn't exactly sure what was, but it sounded like a whimper he would deny ever having let out, because hopefully it had been deafened by the click of the unloaded gun.

Kris let out a hysterical laughter, shortly joined by the much more uncertain laughters of Cory and Jeff, while he waved around the gun. He had to lean up against the wall next to Wally—who was still paralyzed—to not fall over from laughing that hard.

"You-you should have seen your face." He stuttered, his laughter subduing. Then he pushed himself off of the wall and loaded the gun—all six cases—and looked to Wally with dead serious eyes. "But seriously Beetles, this is what's gonna happen so listen carefully. We'll become men today by emptying some of the heavy load in this bank, catch my drift? Good.

"Cory, Jeff and I will do the inside job, you'll be watching from outside, having our back. You know why? Because I feel like I'm losing you, so you'll get a chance to prove me wrong. Here is what you do if anyone approaches, you shoot once."

Kris took up another gun from his bag pack and loaded a single bullet into it, then he handed it to Wally who took it with weak hands. Wally had never held a gun before, and he hadn't expected they would be quite that heavy, quite that cold, or quite that frightening for that matter.

"Beetles." Kris sneered, evil sneaking into his empty eyes. "If you bail on us now, I promise you, your brother's head will fall. Got it?"

Wally nodded frantically, feeling tears spring to his eyes while his heart hammered in his ears. Most of all he wished he could just punch Kris, but he wasn't dumb. Kris did, after all, know where he lived, and he would do more than just shoot his brother if Wally betrayed him now.

* * *

**2013 Rewrite. Originally written between October 21st 2010 - March 31st 2011. I hope you enjoyed this rewrite.**

**Criticism and/or advices on improvement is/are highly appreciated and welcome :)**

**~*~TippierCoffee~*~**


	11. Truths and sins II

**Author: TippierCoffee**

**Disclaimer: I do not own—nor do I claim the rights to—any of the characters from the show **_**Codename: Kids Next Door**_**. All credit goes to rightful owner: Mr. Tom Warburton.**

**LTLY series: 1. Learning To Love You; 2. Again; 3. Alone; 4. Ever After.**

**OBS: I gave Wally's parents names. Mum: Kayla Beetles, dad: Wilbert Beetles.**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

Truths and sins II.

The night felt cold and ruthless, but maybe it was just his own feeling of guilt playing a trick on him. This was what real friends did he'd been told, so why did it feel so wrong? Other than the fact that he was only here to protect the life of his brother, which Kris—a guy claiming to be his best friend—had on the line.

"Just remember, friend." Cory whispered, placing a hand over Wally's shoulder. "If you hear any sirens, just run as if your life depends on it."

"As if? Jeff snorted. "His life is going to depend on it you retard."

"Hey, shut up!" Kris hissed agitated. "I swear, with all of you yelling like that it won't be the alarms we have to worry about." He went back to skillfully cutting a circle around the tape crossed over each other on top of the window.

Wally looked from the self-proclaimed leader to his little lapdogs, then he started looking around while feeling how he started to sweat underneath his skin. His breath got caught in his throat and all of his body started subtly trembling below him. Why the hell had he gotten himself involved with these types, and how had he ended up here?

"There we go." Kris grinned triumphantly, hitting the spot where the tape crossed over each other inside the circle softly with a small hammer. Then he turned his attention to Wally.

"Beetles, hide out behind the car over there, make sure to hold this close." He tapped his own gun to Wally's with a small clunk, making Wally shiver. "Keep a watch out for anyone and everyone. Remember the signal?"

Wally gave a short nod looking to the gun in his left hand, feeling more nauseous than he could ever remember having felt before. How could he ever forget?

"You're a real good friend, Beetles." Kris sneered, making the two others cackle lowly while Wally chuckled nervously before he went to his post.

He put on the mask and gloves Kris had provided for him—something about identity and fingerprints—and made sure not to touch the car, in case it was one of those hyper sensitive ones which would have an alarm go off by the slightest touch alone. Anxiously he looked from side to side, halfway hoping someone would come, because come to think of it—and quite honestly—firing a gun would wake up the neighbourhood for sure. As if no one would call the cops if he did, so it was a pretty dumb signal, not even very well thought out. Not many things Kris set out to do seemed to be, it was just about him being this stupid fourteen-year-old guy trying to put himself on top of the world. Yet, no one showed up.

Wally kept carefully peeking into the bank where his 'comrades' only emptied what was easily available, as none of them had any idea how to open up the vault, thank God. If the vault was opened the alarm in the bank would definitely go off and if that happened Wally had the easiest way of escaping, even now he did, so why didn't he just run?

-_Because Kris knows where you live doofus_- He scolded himself softly, looking at the gun Kris had lend him with sickness reentering once again. If he ran Kris would come and kill his brother.

Wally almost wish Kris would just say he'd kill Wally himself, then it would be easier to run away, with no one else's life on the line. Even though the thought of being shot dead was scaring him a whole lot, it still made him feel somewhat calm. If only he didn't have to worry about Joey—or maybe his entire family—being at danger, he would run right now. But he _did_ have to worry, so he wouldn't run.

No one came, the three others succeeded in their mission, and before Wally knew of it, he heard Kris hiss to him—in fits of laughter—that he should run, and he followed troop with the other guys, reminding himself not to squeeze the trigger of the gun he didn't know how to secure. They ran like that for a while, Wally's gut feeling heavy as if it were filled with stone. His mind kept screaming at him that he had now escalated from slacker, to bored smart ass who trash talked cops to a cruddy _thief_!

They all huffed and puffed when they came to the point where Cory and Jeff would have to go one way, and Wally would be stuck with Kris for a good part of his way home. They all handed over their masks and gloves to Kris, who took off his own stuff too, and put it in the bottom room of his mini-sized hiker bag. Cory and Jeff then walked off with small waves, while laughing about how amazing this whole experience had been, which Kris took as his opportunity to walk off, Wally making sure to stay right next to him.

"See, that wasn't so bad now, was it?" Kris smiled, still catching his breath, while he lay a hand firmly around Wally's shoulder, who stiffened without noticing it. "I mean, have you ever felt this _alive_?"

"I guess not." Wally muttered, trying to remember how to breathe.

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Kris fish up a pack of cigarettes, which his brother had bought for him no doubt, and his parents hadn't cared about it at all. Maybe Kris' parents weren't so amazing after all; who didn't care about their own children anyways?

"Want one?" Kris asked, offering Wally one as he met his eyes. Wally shook his head a little, still trying to calm his mind and his nerves.

"Come on." Kris sneered, practically pushing the package in Wally's face "You know you want to."

Wally eyed the package a little, feeling second thoughts rushing through his mind. He wasn't entirely sure this was a good idea, but maybe it was just Kris trying to bond with him, or prove to him he hadn't completely lost his mind. Wally chewed his bottom lip a little, but he still didn't take the offer.

"It helps with the nerves after all, you know that." Kris said, letting out a cackle. "It's just this one, I promise. Come on Beetles."

Wally saw how Kris lit up a cigarette for himself, then offered one to him. He still felt doubtful for a moment, although part of him also knew what Kris would do if he said no. If he said no he would be called a pussy or something, and he kind of disliked the idea of being teased, so he accepted the cigarette and shoved it into his mouth. Kris guided his lighter towards the cigarette, which already tasted sort of odd on Wally's tongue, and he found nothing happened when Kris lit it.

"You have to suck in while I light it." Kris muttered, his mouth holding onto his own cigarette.

He went to light the one in Wally's mouth again, Wally inhaling carelessly and almost immediately started coughing and spitting because of the toxic smoke falling into his throat and tearing at it. This reaction made Kris laugh his head off in hysteria.

"You're not supposed to swallow it you idiot!" He snorted, holding his hands to his stomach. "You need to blow out again, like this."

Kris effortlessly put his smoke to his lips and inhaled, then opened his mouth in a weird o-shape while exhaling, fumes sneaking out of his mouth and nose. Wally looked doubtfully at the object between his fingers, then mimicked Kris carefully, although still failing to really pull it off, and he still had to spit a little to get the aftertaste out. He wrinkled his nose and tried again, still not succeeding at all.

"Come on Beetles." Kris muttered, smoke in mouth, the he put it in his fingers and exhaled quickly, almost as if spitting out his air. "Think of it like sucking through a straw when you have a soft drink, and then you want to spit it at someone just because."

Wally tried again, mimicking the way he would suck through a straw, then blew the smoke out, this time more correctly, though it could probably still use some work to be quite honest. It didn't seem to bother Kris all that much that Wally was probably a complete noob in his eyes, but Kris _did_ roll his eyes, as subtly as possible—which wasn't very subtle at all.

"You'll get the hang of it." He said, shoving his cigarette into his mouth, then taking off his bag pack. "Take off your bag and get your share." He then muttered.

Wally wasn't sure, because as far as he was concerned, right now he technically was only an accomplice to theft, but if he took this offer, he would be carrying stolen money with him, which made him no better than the ones who had actually been doing the crime. He shuffled a little in his seat, taking another inhale of his cigarette for God knows which reason; almost as if it was reassuring him—_calming him_.

"Hey!" Kris said impatiently, pointing his fully loaded gun at Wally's template. "Hand over your bag and get your share, unless you _want_ your brother to die."

Wally turned his eyes, meeting those of Kris. They were cold, ruthless, and seemingly lifeless too. Wally started taking off his bag pack with trembling hands, frightened because of a thought he had in a flash. If he still had the gun Kris had lent him, he could be dueling Kris, seeing who would pull the trigger first.

A shiver came over his spine, his mind and himself not believing he could ever have those kind of thoughts, but maybe it was just because he felt that much pushed into a corner, and it seemed like it would be the easier way to solve his main problem—probably also the dumber way to solve his problem. He handed his bag over to Kris, and watched as Kris put a bunch of wrapped notes into his bag pack. It seemed they had somehow succeeded to get at least a thousand dollars each, which was more money than Wally would ever feel comfortable just carelessly carrying around; especially when they were stolen.

"Here you go." Kris concluded chatting Wally on the shoulder. "By the way, I secured my gun ages ago, idiot."

Wally tried laughing a long with the joking laugh of Kris, but it was difficult because it didn't take a genius to see that Kris was spiraling downward and this was just the beginning.

* * *

_Present…_

"The beginning of what I didn't know back then though." Wally said, looking to his hands in his lap. He had leaned away from Kuki a long time a go, and now she was just listening with big eyes. "I mean, I wanted to back out, but what was I supposed to do? He was threatening me with killing my brother, and a part of me just felt like he wouldn't cruddy stop there. He would go for my entire family if he could, that's how I saw it.

"So I went with it as we started mocking gas stations and such, we were almost caught a couple of times. I think I was the one who was almost caught the most times, because I really wanted to be caught, at least then it would end. But I guess I just kept on running because my parents were already pissed at me, and if I ended up in juvenile detention I was convinced my parents would never talk to me again. They'd deny me.

"Kris found it funny that I was worried about juvie, because he wasn't. He was convinced that if we were ever caught we would make everyone our bitches, although he was also convinced we'd never get caught because Drew erased our traces if we were ever close to getting caught. From the inside.

"I started fearing that someone would get hurt really badly, because Kris was tipping over the edge, even Cory and Jeff knew that, though they enjoyed being with him a lot more than I did, and they still found everything cruddy amusing. Then, two weeks after that stupid bank it happened."

* * *

_2005…_

_March 19th, 12pm._

Wally, Cory and Jeff were waiting outside in the woods near an abandoned small cabin; or rather shag. Kris had showed them this place only the day before and informed them to meet him here on this day at this time, and he'd have something really great for them. Cory and Jeff had seemed genuinely excited about whatever it was Kris wanted to show them, but Wally wasn't so sure. He still felt unnerved and on edge whenever Kris was around, it had become impossible to know what that guy was thinking.

Wally had also found he wanted to stay in school more, wanted to learn, wanted a future. Everything he thought was pointless ever since he turned thirteen, everything he had hated, everything that had bored him half to death, he wanted it now. If he had just cared to listen to his parents, however strict they had sounded, he probably would have never ended in this situation. After all they just wanted what was best for him.

"What do you think he wants?" Cory asked, obviously bored, mostly because it felt like ages since they came even though it had probably only been two minutes.

"How should I know?" Wally scoffed, putting light to a cigarette.

This was one of the things he hated the most; the way Kris had gotten him addicted to cigarettes and he found whenever he was stressed, anxious or just feeling pissed, he had to inhale the toxic tar to calm himself down. His mother had been extremely mad when she had found out about his new habit and had started tossing a tantrum, or so it seemed back then, but thinking about it now she had probably just been very disappointed. Wally hadn't exactly been nice to her, and insults had been flying back and forth until his dad had come home, then suddenly there were three arguing, which turned into his parents arguing who might be more at fault for Wally's behaviour, though the only one who could ever take blame in his actions was himself.

In the end they had reached a compromise. If Wally raised his grades by attending more steadily, then he would be allowed to smoke, but only outside. Even though his attendance still wasn't the best in the world, he had made an effort to raise his grades, and so he had been allowed. Though mostly he would be smoking out the window in his room, because as far as he was concerned that _was_ outside.

"I hope it's worth the wait." Jeff said annoyed, kicking the hard ground and sending frost and rotten, frozen leaves flying. "I swear it's too cold for this crap, who even heard of five degrees* in March?"

"What'd you do with your money?" Wally suddenly found himself mumbling, remembering how, after he had come home, he had shoved his bag pack as far underneath his bed as possible and finally broken down, crying hysterically into his pillow while muttering Joey's name, over and over. He would _never_ use those money.

"New stereo." Jeff muttered. "Not too large tough, my parents would just get suspicious."

"Saving mine for college." Cory stated shortly, catching Wally's attention. Cory was hardly ever at school, Wally had never thought he even cared about it.

"Pf! As if you, I or Kris have a chance at that." Jeff snorted, chuckling lightly. "We hardly ever meet. The only one with just a bit of a chance to make it to high school and then proceed to college is goody-goody Beetles."

"If you were in my shoes you'd meet up too." Wally stated. "My mum's screaming can make anyone's ears ring, and I just prefer not having my head explode because she's having a temper tantrum."

This made the two others laugh while trying to mimic Wally's mum, who neither of them had ever met. Even though Wally partly found it extremely hilarious—mostly because they called him Wally or Beetles—part of him also felt like knocking them over for mocking his mum like that. He might not always agree with what she did, and he most definitely had been under appreciating her lately, but he loved her nonetheless. He was still trying to win over at least some of her trust and respect by trying to dose her with respect and love, although he wasn't exactly amazing at that, but he _did_ try.

"You know what?" Jeff suddenly stated. "If Kris is not here in at least five minutes I'm getting the hell out 'a here, it's fucking cold!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Jeff." Kris' voice came from within the trees. "Have you no patience at all? I just needed some extra time to pick up a little treat."

He shoved a girl in front of him, who was taller than him, but with his gun pointed to her template she looked terribly small. She wore a light beige dress, white stockings and shoes that reached just above her ankles. They weren't exactly winter boots, but they matched the rest of her outfit pretty well, holding a light beige colour. On top of her dress she had a while zip-up hood sweater, which was quite thin, but no jacket—Kris probably hadn't let her take it along with her. Her hair was blood red, her eyes deep blue, and her pale oval face with the small somewhat pointy nose looked almost flawless, safe for the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Jeff and Cory let out whistles while eying her up and down with lusty looks, which made her body tremble that much more, but Wally couldn't believe his eyes. What was Kris doing right now, and why had he called this girl a treat? Didn't he know she was a human being, and a scared one at that? He was frozen to the spot, unable to do anything, probably just as paralyzed and frightened as the girl, although she probably was a lot more terrified than him right now. All alone in the middle of no where with four psychopathic little boys.

"Why don't you tell us your name, pretty?" Kris growled at her, an evil smile upon his face.

"Ro-Rosalind C-Claudine." She stuttered, so silently Wally could barely hear her at all.

"Please speak up." Kris whispered to her, though loud enough for the other guys to hear him too. "Not all of us caught that."

"Rosalind Claudine." She cried, faltering in Kris' hard grasp. "My friends call me Rose."

"Ooh, like the flower?" Kris mocked, licking her neck which made her let out a small whine while she started trembling more vehemently.

"Beetles!" Wally looked to Kris, worry in his eyes. "Aren't you a lucky little guy? Because you keep making me uncertain I give you all of these special prizes, this is just one of them." He pushed Rose into Wally's arms, and Wally by reflex caught her and held her as steady as he possibly could.

"I want you to go in here and have a lot fun with her." Kris sneered making a subtle thrusting motion with his pelvis, before opening the door to the shag, and Wally almost panicked when he saw that the door was opening outward.

"Remember." Kris sang, waving his gun around while he shoved both Wally and Rose inside. "We can hear you out here, and if I find out you didn't do her, you know what's gonna happen."

He made a little motion with his gun, then the door closed on Wally who stood pinned to the spot, feeling like he was going to vomit. Did Kris really want him to do what he thought he wanted him to do? But Wally was only fifteen-years-old, and a virgin! He couldn't just do that to a girl he'd never met, who sat trembling on the ground, pressing herself up against the wall to get as far away from him as possible. He couldn't; but if he didn't…

A flash of Joey dead on the ground made tears spring into Wally's eyes, and before he knew of it he found himself walking over to Rose, kneeling down in front of her and covering her mouth; unsure which one of them was trembling harder, him or her.

"I'm sorry." He croaked, moving closer to her, while he felt her tears fall onto his hands. "I'm so sorry, please don't be mad. If I don't do this he's gonna kill my baby brother."

He could feel Rose shaking even more violently than before as he started working his right hand up to rid her of her zip-up. He could feel his own heart betraying him and itself as it sank deep into his stomach while still managing to make his chest ache. He could feel his stomach turning and his throat trying a knot on itself, making him unable to breathe. He was blinded by tears pressing closer, only making his hyperventilation worse; at this point he would faint. Though he might just prefer dying, rather than touching her bare shoulders and realizing, he really couldn't do it.

"I can't." He sobbed, making Rose cry even harder, probably from relief. "I can't do this. Fuck!" He had never felt so desperate, scared, wrong and filthy all at once as he felt now. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!"

Wally pulled away from Rose, though scared to uncover her mouth, and then he sat staring into the floor while trembling and crying. Carefully he met her eyes, just as scared as his, just as confused as his, showing that she was just as longing to go home as him. Go home and forget everything, bury themselves under their duvets in each their home, while forgetting everything around them, forgetting the world. Maybe Rose could live, move on, be better, but Wally might just want to rot away in his bed, let go of everything and die; finally have peace.

"You need to help me." He found himself saying lowly, in a groggy voice while desperately trying to swallow air. "I'll uncover your mouth, but you have to be quiet, okay?"

He looked at her begging eyes, looking at his begging eyes. Like they were two small children looking for comfort in each other even though they didn't know each other, even though one of them was terrified of the other, yet she found herself nodding and Wally felt a weight lift off his shoulders while he became able to breathe just a little better. He carefully removed his hand from her mouth and she stayed quiet as a mouse.

"Okay." Wally whispered, scooting a little closer to the girl who in response pressed herself harder against the wall. "If we simulate they won't know the difference, and they'll leave you be, I'm sure of it."

"How old are you?" She suddenly asked, breathlessly and still very frightened.

"Fifteen." Wally answered, feeling extremely embarrassed for some reason.

"What about the guy with the gun?"

"Fourteen."

"Jesus Christ!" She sighed, relaxing her body a little. "What the hell are you guys thinking, and if you don't want to do this, then why are you even with them?"

"Because the guy with the gun is going to kill my brother if I don't do as he says. I can't cruddy do this, I don't want to, I just want to go home."

"And I don't?" Rose hissed, new tears—this time of anger—streaming down her face. "I was just minding my own business when that jerk just came along!"

"I'm sorry." Wally muttered, as if it was going to fix anything when both of them knew fully well that it wouldn't.

"You're awfully quiet in there!" Kris' voice broke through. "Is something happening or not Beetles?"

"Yeah I just…" Waly quickly looked to Rose, making up something dumb on the spot. "I bound her shirt around her mouth so she wouldn't scream. I don't like noisy girls!"

This made the three outside laugh hysterically, yet some sort of approval seemed to coat their laughters too, and Wally found he mentally drop kicked himself while looking to Rose with very apologetic eyes, feeling his face burn up by the sight of her shocked expression. She was blushing too, so it made him feel a little better, at least he thought it did.

"What do you say?" He asked lowly, looking to her with begging eyes, feeling like his face would explode any moment soon from embarrassment, but it looked like hers would too. "Fake it and no one will get hurt. Not you, not my brother, not anyone."

"And they'll leave me be?" Rose asked, a tint of hope sneaking into her voice, her shivering body finally fully relaxing. After all, this Beetles guy did seem genuine and he'd just made up a lie to keep the other guys out.

"Yes." Wally sighed, bowing his head, seemingly in defeat, but it was in gratitude and relief.

"Promise?" She asked, looking to him, her eyes sparkling with something he couldn't really place.

"I promise." He said, confidence in his eyes, which made her smile brightly, before they proceeded to faking something that wasn't even supposed to be made fun of, but it was for the sake of her, and for the sake of his brother.

* * *

_Present…_

"I think that's one of the most awkward and embarrassing things I've ever done." Wally chuckled, his expression nothing but sadness. "But we went through with it, me screaming for her to shut up at random times while punching the wall, and her crying out here and there. I'm not really sure which one of us was blushing more, both of us were definitely feeling really awkward, but it was worth it. Or so I thought."

* * *

_Past…_

Rose sat for a while, looking at Wally who had opened his flier and unbuttoned his pants, as well as loosened his belt. She let him come over to her, while muttering a silent apology, before letting him gruff up her hair and make it look like torn bed hair. She couldn't help but giggle a little at his actions while looking to him as he had his tongue fixated at the corner of his lips.

"There." He muttered, leaning away from her and ruffling his own hair a little. "Just, if you see me don't call out to me or anything, you hate me and you're scared of me because I cruddy ruined your life."

"You're sweet." Rose smiled, srtoking his cheek softly which made him freeze. "I really hope you find a way of getting out of this bad company soon, you're better than this, I can tell."

She gave him a smile which made him look down nervously. He'd never really been called good or sweet, much less too good for someone. He wasn't a smart kid, he was head strong and made stupid decisions that always ended up getting him involved in things that were hard to get out of. Things like this.

But then she did something completely unexpected, something he would never think anyone would ever do to him, because people often connected him to negative things, like his temper, or bullying, or Kris' gang. After having torn at her dress and stockings to make it all seem believable, and wiped all of her lip gloss in her zip-up before tossing it to the floor, she grabbed his cheeks and softly kissed his lips. It was just brief, and to her it was probably nothing incredibly special, just her way of showing him her final gratitude; but to Wally it was his first kiss ever. A kiss given to him by a girl—two years older than himself—who he'd been supposed to rape and scar for life but hadn't been able to.

She helped him to his feet with a little smile then took a deep breath and turned her mood one eighty, crying out so realistically Wally started feeling sorry for her, but she was faking this for him, just like he had been faking the rape for her. She then let him roughly push her out of the cabin, onto the ground, and let him sneer at her.

"Plenty left if you feel lonely." He heard his own voice say coldly, making even himself scared.

Then he watched as she got up to run away, his friends laughing and whistling after her, Kris padding his back harshly, his face full of approval and amusement.

"I knew I hadn't lost you." He triumphed as he watched Wally zip up his flier, button his pants and tighten his belt. "How was she, huh?"

Wally already knew which answer Kris wanted, he could see it from the playful, yet devilish tingle in his eyes, to the way he was practically bouncing up and down like a little child in amazement and excitement.

"Treat." Wally said, keeping the coldness to his voice, which made his own spine crawl with shivers, while licking his mouth.

* * *

_Present…_

"You know." Wally said, heaving heavily as he watched Kuki's terrified expression while she was hugging his pillow into her, silent tears falling down her cheeks. He felt so bad, wanted to embrace her, but he was scared she'd push him away, call him a monster or a freak, or worse; tell everyone. Including Amber.

"I really thought they'd leave her alone, I did. That's why I promised her, but I couldn't even keep my promise."

"I don't want to hear anymore." Kuki whined, her voice so twisted from her cries that Wally hardly recognized it.

"But I need to finish this, it'll be short, I promise." He watched Kuki as she looked away still crying her bitter tears then she gave a nod and buried her face into his pillow once again.

"The next day I went to school." Wally continued with a sigh. "I had decided I wanted to get serious about my education and my future, I wanted to get away from Kris and the others, I wanted to go back to Cleveland and start anew, but I was still so scared to tell anyone. I got a note that day in my locker, it was from Kris, I recognized his sorry excuse of handwriting right away.

"It said he thought Rose had sounded so good the other's just had to have a go at her and if I wanted a retry I could find her at the same place we were yesterday. I could practically feel my heart fall apart, like in those cruddy girly movies when they break up, except I felt like I had betrayed her. I promised her."

* * *

_Past…_

Wally ran as fast as he could back into the woods, not caring that his jacket wasn't closed, or that he'd left his bag pack and his books at the school. He needed to try and get out here, maybe it wasn't too late yet to step in and stop them. Who was he trying to kid though? Kris could have left that note hours ago as well as just a couple of minutes ago, and maybe it was already too late and she would be sitting in the shag and hugging herself tightly with tears streaming down her face, infuriated with him. He promised!

He came to his desired destination but what he saw there made everything within him sink and shatter, and he found his knees give after and send him falling to the ground. He couldn't believe this, the way she was lying there, sprawled across the ground, her hair lying in messes around her, looking like a cascade of fire against the still frozen ground. Her striped T-shirt pulled up, her bra pulled off, her pants and panties tossed off her, her body full of stab wounds.

He turned away from the sight, feeling so sick he couldn't believe it, and that's when he saw what made everything within his stomach turn. An abandoned tripod parallel to her and a note stuck under one of the feet. They had been filming it!

Wally suddenly felt all of his breakfast and lunch leave him and fall to the ground, almost choking him as it did so. He had promised her, he had sworn to her, he had said they wouldn't come after her at all, and now she was… She was. More fluids came out of his mouth, tearing harshly against his throat—graining his throat—and smelling foul in his nostrils.

He broke down crying in despair and fear. If she came back as a spirit she would haunt him for the rest of his life, because he had promised her and she was dead, and they had filmed it and left a note for him.

-_The note!_- He looked up with a frightened expression, still feeling like he was being swallowed by the earth, but he had to know what it said. If it was them boasting and giving details, or if it was something else.

He dragged himself over to the tripod and tore the note away from under the foot, trying his best to ignore the corpse he could constantly see in the corner of his eyes, and even though the rational part of his mind knew this was just his guilt playing tricks on his mind, he could have sworn he saw Rose turn her head to look directly at him with angry and hurt eyes. He was shaking so much from the feeling of her watching him like that when she was dead, becoming paranoid that each rustle of the winds causing dead leaves to move was her standing up or dragging herself toward him. With trembling hands and blurry vision, unable to breathe and shake the feeling of Rose closing in on him, he opened the note and felt his heart sink.

-_No…_- He kept looking, kept trying to convince himself he was reading wrong, but it was there, black on white. Kris' handwriting.

_Your brother is so lucky Beetles._

With trembling legs he got up, shaking Rose's artificial ghost—made of his mind—off of him, while he started running as fast as he could; which, at current point, was not that fast at all. If anything it felt like he had cinder blocks tied to his feet, but he was not going to let Joey down too, not if he could prevent it.

-_Please!_- He begged desperately in his head. -_Please let him be okay, please don't let me be late!_-

* * *

_Present…_

"At some point I reached the elementary school ground and saw Kris and the others beat up some random kid." Wally said, swallowing hard.

"Wallace Foster?" Kuki asked groggily through her cries. Wally nodded bitterly.

"I think I lost it when I saw it. He was just a kid around my brother's age, maybe one year older, and they were beating him up because they thought he had a funny name.

"It was the last straw for me, the thing that tipped me over the edge, and somehow I found myself battling the four of them, knocking them unconscious although I took some pretty hefty beatings myself, and nearly fainted because Kris hit my template. He even fired his gun, but he ended up shooting Cory's leg because I was moving too fast for him. Lousy shot if you ask me.

"Guess someone called the cops somewhere in between, but after I'd knocked them out I tried to revive Wallace, but I was too late for that too. Police came, Drew was there, I screamed up about his corruption, which he denied of course. They needed me to cooperate, and I guess they believed me enough to actually look into Drew and see for themselves.

"I told them everything then and there. I didn't care anymore, Kris was going to be locked up, my brother was safe, there was nothing left to fear, and nothing left for me to lose. I had already lost it all. My family, my future, my trust in myself, other people's trust in me. As far as I was concerned they should just put me in the electric chair then and there, but seeing as I cooperated, and seeing as they found my share of the stolen goods from the bank and the gas stations, which I had never used, they gave me a lot less time than the others. I always deserved more though. I did; because I _promised_ her. I promised her."

He couldn't stop himself anymore, couldn't hold it back anymore. He had needed to tell this so badly, but now he was breaking down from reliving it, and breaking down because he could sense Kuki's fear. Even though he trusted she probably wouldn't tell anyone ever, he would definitely lose her, because now she knew. She knew what kind of monster he was, which disaster he could have stopped but never did because he had been too God damn scared to. She knew how dangerous it could be getting too close to him, what it meant.

His past which he tried so desperately to bury behind him, but it kept haunting him in the form of Rose visiting his nightmares, blaming him as he blamed himself. He had promised her, but she had still died, and he hadn't been held guilty for it. He hadn't even been charged for it, when everyone knew he was just as guilty as the other low life murderers who just deserved to burn in hell, and the world would have been better off if someone like him had never been born.

He was guilty as they came, vicious and disgusting, a monster in disguise, losing everything all over again, but then he felt a soft embrace removing the world around him, burying him in a safeness he didn't deserve. Kuki's embrace, Kuki's hand stroking his hair, Kuki holding him steady and giving him compassion.

"Don't blame yourself." She muttered after a while, letting him cry into her while she too cried on his behalf. What a cruel fate he had been tossed into. "This would have happened even if you weren't there, and you _were_ being black mailed. You need to stop blaming yourself so much for everything Wally. Forgive yourself and move on, because it's not your fault. You're not a bad guy."

Wally felt himself breaking down even more. Not a bad guy? Of course he was, he had to be, because why else had he ended in this? He must have done something bad that had ended him like that.

"You're not scared of me?" He croaked, a hiccup escaping. He felt so helpless and vulnerable.

"No." She hushed, making him feel so safe, so loved, so trusted. Almost like how Rose had made him feel, but it was more than that, because Kuki actually knew him. Mostly good, but now also bad. "I'm terrified of your story, and I never wish to meet Kris or the others. But I'm not scared of you, because I know you. You're a good guy who ended up in an unlucky and bad situation, but even if you hadn't been there, and I know I just said this, this would have happened anyways. Kris and the others didn't do that to Rose because of you, they did it because they found it entertaining and they wanted to."

"But his note said I made her sound so good." Wally sobbed, trying to really listen to Kuki because of course she was right, she had a tendency to be.

"Without you she might have died one day earlier because she felt so good." Kuki gave a little shiver. "But this is not your fault, and you need to forgive yourself. You're a good person, who's trustworthy and fun to be with, who will protect his friends because he knows they're worth it if they truly make him feel good. You're not bad."

* * *

**2013 Rewrite. Originally written between October 21st 2010 - March 31st 2011. I hope you enjoyed this rewrite.**

***five degrees Celsius.**

**Criticism and/or advices on improvement is/are highly appreciated and welcome :)**

**A/N: Truths and sins used to be one chapter, but I split it up. Otherwise it would have been a 12,000 words chapter xD**

**~*~TippierCoffee~*~**


	12. What crush?

**Author: TippierCoffee**

**Disclaimer: I do not own—nor do I claim the rights to—any of the characters from the show **_**Codename: Kids Next Door**_**. All credit goes to rightful owner: Mr. Tom Warburton.**

**LTLY series: 1. Learning To Love You; 2. Again; 3. Alone; 4. Ever After.**

**OBS: I gave Wally's parents names. Mum: Kayla Beetles, dad: Wilbert Beetles.**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

What crush?

Wally held steadily onto Kuki's blouse, feeling himself drown in the comfort she offered with her simple embrace. He didn't feel like facing the world or anyone in it right now if he could avoid it, he just kind of felt like sitting here, embracing Kuki who was embracing him. He knew she had been scared, he had been able to see it on the way she had trembled, the way her eyes had started tearing up, the way her lip had quivered. Yet, she held him like this, hushing him gently, making his heart race in his chest and beating a steady rhythm in his ears.

He would like to stay like this a little longer, maybe forever if he could. It was so warm and comfortable, and filled with the promise that they would always be best friends. It even made him forget about the files scattered on the bed—one of them on the floor. It made him forget about Wallace, and Rose, and Cory, and Jeff, and Drew, and Kris. It even made him feel like he was forgetting about Amber, making Kuki the only thing there. So comfortable, he closed his eyes and relaxed a little, falling asleep in an instant.

* * *

_Wally wasn't entirely sure where he was or how old he was, but he definitely wasn't sixteen anymore; he was younger. He looked around in a room, every single thing in here was blurry as if he didn't have imagination enough to make up furniture, but this younger version of himself seemed to know what everything was. He heard himself let out a sigh as he started walking, his mind not able to control his dream body at all—only able to watch from within._

_Younger Wally went to something that must have been some sort of chair, letting out yet another sigh, before sitting down with a sinking feeling inside of him, holding back tears. Wally wondered why his dream self was so sad, he wondered if something had happened, although it felt more like something was about to happen. He took a look up to a window looking down on him, finding himself nodding subtly as if telling whoever was up there that he was ready for whatever was about to happen._

_He could sense the people behind the window readying to do whatever it was they were supposed to do, but something made them stop and press a button that opened the very door he had entered instead. Stepping inside the door came a young girl, probably around his age, but it was hard to make her out when he was stuck the way he was in his dream body. Like his dream self had a bad eyesight._

_The small girl came over, her steps a little heavy, her hands intertwined in front of her lower torso. She shyly walked over to his side and started talking to him. He couldn't hear what she said, but he could feel his dream self moving his mouth as if replying to her, although no words escaped. He could feel how his dream self wished to stand up so he could give her some sort of comfort, maybe a hug, but for some reason he was strapped down. He watched helplessly as she sat on a chair next to him, reaching out her hand with tearful eyes. Wally wasn't sure how he knew they were tearful, maybe because his dream self could see more than what he was showing him?_

"_Please don't forget me." He suddenly heard her squeak, her voice sounding so familiar to him, yet, for some reason he couldn't place it. It was too young, too distorted, but still it send a shiver down his spine and made a million emotions course through him all at once—so painful._

"_I'll try." He heard himself sob to the girl, so desperate to promise her he wouldn't forget her, but he knew he couldn't keep that promise because… Because… Why?_

"_Promise?" She asked, drying away tears._

"_Promise." He said, leaning into her and kissing her softly on the lips, which she returned with the tears still falling down her cheeks._

_Something grabbed around his head and pulled him away from her, just as he was about to at least bring his hands to her face so he hold her as close as possible. His head rammed into the soft fabric of the chair, something lunging out at him, then a bright light engulfed him and the entire room, blinding him while he got tossed to an unknown place, saying her name in his head._

* * *

"Wally?" Kuki shook him softly awake when she found she couldn't carry his weight anymore and he sat up straight, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

He wondered what that dream had been about, and why it had left him feeling so strangely sad and empty. Mostly because of the content of the dream, but also because it was fading so fast he was already forgetting it. A soft knock came from the door, making the two of them look up from their places—side by side, shoulder to shoulder.

"Come in." Wally muttered, the last of his tiredness leaving his voice.

His mother opened the door with a bit of a confused look upon her face, yet she gave a smile when she saw the two sitting. Although it was replaced with worry when she saw the scattered files and the pictures laying on the bed to Kuki's right side. It didn't take Kayla long to figure out what had happened and why, and she cautiously looked to Kuki who just had a pure, yet confused look on her face.

"I was wondering where the two of you went." Kayla sighed, smiling affectionately at them "Do you want to come downstairs and maybe have some hot chocolate?"

"Can we have it up here?" Wally asked, looking to Kuki as if to see if she was okay with that, which she seemed to be.

"Sure." Kayla smiled "I'll be up with it in a bit."

The two of them watched as she left the room with a little smile to go downstairs and prepare the drink. Wally stared at the wall for a small while, then his attention got caught by Kuki who started to pick up the files effortlessly with a little reassuring smile on her lips, as if she was telling him one last time that she wasn't scared of him, even though she had been when she had seen him fight CT. Like she didn't blame him at all the same way the rest of the world did, that she believed him unlike most other people. He stood up and helped her, his body feeling heavy below him, accepting the three files she had picked up and was now handing him before putting them back in place. After that she handed him the pictures and watched as he flawlessly put them to their rightful place—although his hands were shaking.

"Why is she making us hot chocolate?" Kuki wondered out loud as they sat down. Not that she minded the sound of it, she really liked the drink too.

"She knows it calms me down." Wally muttered, roaming around among his DVDs until he found a comedy movie; then he showed it to Kuki. "Ever watched this before?"

Kuki looked at the casing then shook her head softly, watching Wally turn on the TV and his DVD player, he then put the disk into the player and started the movie. Wally shuffled a little while sitting next to Kuki, their shoulders subtly brushing against each other. For some reason he found he longed to be in her embrace, that he wanted to stroke her hair, or have her stroke his, but it was a pretty dumb thought. Why he wanted to suddenly be so intimate with her he couldn't quite figure out, but he knew it wasn't a good idea to actually act on it. After all, he still had Amber and Kuki had that Derick guy. Betraying them just because Wally liked her comfort would be quite rude, not to mention distrustful, and it would most certainly cause drama between Amber and him. Amber would toss a fit no matter what just by the mentioning of Kuki being in his room where no one else—not even Amber—had set foot.

"Are you sure you're not… You know, scared of me?" Wally shuffled, darting his eyes between Kuki and his hands.

"Why would I be scared of you?" Kuki asked baffled, even though she knew he probably might worry about it because she had been frightened after the first time she'd seen him fight.

"I killed—"

"You need to stop blaming yourself Wally." Kuki cut him off, feeling sadness and annoyance mixing together. Had he not been listening to her at all? "You didn't do anything."

"Doing nothing is doing something." He muttered, focusing on the movie. He _did_ know she was right, maybe he just needed to brighten his mood a little, he wasn't sure. He liked to be reassured by her though, that much he did know.

"What?" She asked baffled, clearly confused by his nonsense.

"Because if you're doing nothing, even though you know you should, you're letting things continue, which is just as bad as actually doing it yourself, which means you _are_ technically doing something."

Kuki blinked a little while looking at him, the movie playing in the background. She tried to replay what Wally had just told her in her head, but she wasn't sure if she could figure out what in the world he was on about. She wondered if this was just him trying to play her a trick, or purposely make her confused, just for the sake of laughing at her later, but if it was it wasn't fair. Her head felt like it hurt from the confusion although it felt like she might have an idea what he'd said, nevertheless she didn't think she would be really mad at him if he was playing around with her; she could see how this could be amusing.

"That didn't make any sense Wally." She then giggled, looking at Wally's somewhat mournful look.

"Well, I didn't report them." Wally concluded "If I had, this might have not have happened."

"They _did_ threaten to kill your brother." Kuki cooed, scooting closer and stroking his back, giving him the comfort he had somehow found himself desperately seeking out from her "If I had been in the same situation as you, I think I would have done exactly the same to protect the people I love."

"Yeah?" He looked to her, a little smile spreading n his lips, mostly out of amusement "I can't imagine you ever landing yourself in a situation like that, you're too innocent and kind."

To this Kuki responded by letting out a little giggle and bumping her shoulder lightly against his, feeling a little embarrassed by his words. He returned it with a bump of his own shoulder to hers, a little harder than she had done, which almost send her falling onto his bed in fits of giggles while he laughed. She pushed back almost equally as hard as he had, though still playful and before they knew of it they sat and pressed against each other until they toppled down on the floor, laughing out loud like little children—Kuki landing on top of Wally.

He rolled them over to the side, so they lay side by side, face to face, still laughing. Wally was rubbing the back of his head a little, with a small moan, his eyes looking into Kuki's, both pairs of eyes glistening with childish playfulness, but there was also an undertone of something else that suggested both of their subconscious minds knew, this was practically flirting. Maybe not heated flirting, or sappy pick-up lines, but flirting via teasing and physical contact. Wally sat up, closely followed by Kuki who gave him a small gentle shove which he returned the same, then he got up and offered her a hand.

She took it with gratitude in her shimmering eyes, letting him help her to her feet before the two of them sat down again to watch the movie, where Kuki already didn't really know what was going on and why. After all, this _was_ the first time she saw it. They waited for a while longer, sitting there side by side, until suddenly Wally broke the gentle silence between the two.

"Kuki?" She looked to him, her smile never faltering. He flt like he'd missed that smile, maybe because they hadn't seen each other for a while. "Thank you."

"It's okay." She sang, wanting to hug him when she realized they still held onto each other's hands.

They let go with blushes spreading across their cheeks, though both of them shook it off pretty quickly, before meeting in a soft embrace. Wally found he felt, that if they could just sit like this forever, then maybe everything would be okay and no one would ever be able to hurt either of them. Like the two of them could build a stronghold in which only a few people could enter, people who they knew would never hurt either of them.

Kuki could feel her heart race as fast as Wally's, she could feel the two hearts practically meeting each other, as they knocked on the other's chest, and she found a million of feelings were running through her head, replacing each other quickly and effortlessly. They switched between her having the urge to pull Wally closer, or maybe kissing him, to her scolding herself because she knew he was dating someone and she had something going on with someone else. They both were taken, not by each other, and it made her hurt, though being in this position made her feel so much in love she was scared her heart would shatter from it. She felt Wally subconsciously stroke her hair, while sighing softly in her ear, making her feel like she would melt, but it all just made her sad anew. He was not hers and she was not his. He must have had some of the same things going through him because suddenly she heard him clearing his throat and pull away from her.

"Sorry about that." He muttered, focusing on the TV with red cheeks, probably matching hers "Let's not mention this to Amber ever, she'll just think a bunch of things."

"Yeah." Kuki sighed, darting her eyes a bit. "I think Derick would too."

"Yeah." He replied, biting the inside of his cheek "I don't think I'll be able to stop picturing Rose when I see Amber now… It's going to be so hard for me to face her, but I don't know if I can just break up with her or not. It's not just Rose either, it's the way she's sometimes forcing herself onto me. It's just getting too much, but I think this is the last straw."

Kuki puckered her lips a little in thought trying to shake the mental image of Amber crawling on top of Wally and trying to strip him down. It was really uncomfortable first of all, also somewhat heartbreaking to think of Wally being touched all over. She wasn't sure why, it didn't have anything to do with her. She didn't like Wally like that, did she? Then she remembered the feelings and sensations from a moment ago, which made her feel like she might be playing pretend—or maybe the sensation had just come because of feeling close to Wally again.

"I think you need to ask yourself why first." Kuki then said "Why do you want to break up with her?"

"Because I don't think I love her." Wally mumbled.

"Don't tell me, just find it in yourself." Kuki said softly "But I think you should wait till the new year at least, or Amber will have the worst Christmas and new year's eve ever."

"Yeah." Wally agreed, seeing how that was a rational thing. He did really need to ask himself a lot about Amber, if he really did love her, if he ever had. How to break it to her nicely whenever he reached a conclusion, although he already had a pretty good idea what the answer was.

"Did you know Amber thinks I have something going on with you behind her back? Some sort of affair I think. That's the main reason I can hardly ever see you, she doesn't cruddy let me."

"Really?" Kuki wondered out loud "She's really become overly possessive, I can understand how that must be hard to be with though."

"It's also one of the reasons it'll be hard to break up with her. She'll just think it's because of you."

"But I'm sort of with Derick, even you know that." Kuki exclaimed popping her lips softly together.

"I wonder if Amber knows I know, or maybe she thinks neither of us care."

"I don't like talking about her like this." Kuki admitted, feeling a little guilty "But I hope she'll start trusting you again soon."

"Yeah, me too." Wally sighed "It's getting a bit tiring to hear her accuse me of things with you, or comparing herself with you. Like, when she got heated and I said stop, she said she bet I'd do it if she were you. Also she complains about me having time for you and not her, like: are you blind?"

"I think maybe you should try and see a little form her perspective too though." Kuki heard herself say "Her parents never have time for her and practically buy her over with money to get her forgiveness. So even though she has all these material things in her life I think she still feels empty and you're filling up a void inside of her. I'm sure she didn't mean to become possessive or pushy, but I think she's just happy to have you like this in her life, and then she's also used to having things go her way most of the time. I really don't mean to sound mean or anything, but she is a bit spoiled."

"Sure you're not jealous of her wealth?" Wally teased.

"I think I'm fine the way I am." Kuki gave back, giving him a bump to his shoulders.

"Jealous because she has me?" He winked poking her cheek while leaning into her a bit, his head screaming at him to stop before this went overboard.

"Or maybe you're jealous Derick Marsh has me." She gave back, shoving him back a little by leaning her weight on him.

"Oh, so you _are_ dating the mars man?" He laughed just to have her roll her eyes at him.

"What if I am?" She shrugged, bumping into him again.

"So nothing. Except if he hurts you, then we might have a problem."

"But of course you'll save me if I'm ever in a pinch." She teased, sticking her tongue out.

"Of course I would." He smiled, looking into her playful eyes, feeling his insides lighting on fire before melting. Maybe they could close the gap, do something else. What he wasn't sure, though he knew perfectly well in his mind it couldn't be what he was about to maybe do now. Why didn't even she pull away when he came closer? Why did she come closer too?

A knock on his door tore the two of them apart before they made the worst mistake they could possibly ever make in their lives and they sat straight, their faces burning from embarrassment, a competition who could blush the most. This had never happened, they could pretend. Could deny their flirt which had lasted ever since he told his story, could deny they had started guiding their lips toward the others'. Who even said they were about to kiss? They were probably just about to hug again, that had to be it. There was no way they were falling for each other, because that wouldn't make sense. Even if they were, neither of them were the type to cheat, so maybe it was a good thing Wally's mum had knocked the door when she had and entered carefully after she had been told she could come in.

She looked between the two with an amused grin on her face, which pissed Wally off more than usual, probably because he knew his mum would think they were doing something when they weren't. They were both taken, end of story.

* * *

_2.48pm_

"Won't you come down into the living room?" Kayla asked, popping her head in for the thirtieth time that day. She looked to Wally and Kuki who sat leaned against each other, looking pretty comfortable, but they looked isolated somehow in here. "You can have some lunch if you're hungry."

Wally was just about to answer to her that they were both actually quite fine, after having stopped flirting with each other and had just settled back into the quiet comfort of their friendship, both of them with weird sinking feelings. But he only got to open his mouth when he heard his own stomach growling protest along with Kuki's. The two looked at each other with embarrassed blushes before they started laughing—both Wally, Kuki and Kayla.

"I'll take that as a yes to the lunch then?" Kayla smiled, watching the two get up, Wally making sure he turned off the TV, before they headed downstairs.

"Thanks for the hot chocolate, by the way, Mrs. Beetles." Kuki chirped, looking up to Kayla with a wide grin "It was so yummy. I wonder if I can ever make hot chocolate like that myself. Oh I know! Maybe you could show me?"

"I don't know Kuki." Kayla sighed, with a little glimmer in her eyes "It's an ancient recipe that's been passed down in my family."

"I just thought you heated dark chocolate and mixed it with water?" Wally wondered out loud.

"Goodness no." Kayla said "I put milk in too, the chocolate flavour won't be too sharp like that."

"What about sugar?" Kuki wondered out loud.

"No sugar, just dark chocolate." Kayla smiled "I guess I could show you one day how I make it, if you keep it to yourself."

"Really?" Kuki gleamed, already feeling excited "I would love to know that! Thank you so much Mrs. Beetles."

"Why don't you just call her Kayla?" Wally asked, sitting down at the sofa table with Kuki beside him. "I mean, you've known her for a while, no need to be so formal."

"Well I just feel like it, okay?" She stuck her tongue out at him. "Besides, it's not your say if I call your mum Kayla or Mrs. Beetles, Wallabee."

He gave her a little shove before sitting on the sofa with Kuki, accepting the cup noodles his mother offered the two of them, choosing the beef flavoured one, while Kuki chose the chicken flavoured one. Then they sat there, his family and Kuki, Joey turning the channel to watch Captain Yipper. It wasn't exactly bad, or awkward, though he had definitely liked being in his room a little more. Although, when he thought about it and the way they had so shamelessly been flirting with each other, it was probably for the better that they sat down here surrounded by people.

"By the way Kuki." Kayla suddenly said, making Kuki direct her attention to her "Your parents are coming over for dinner to discuss Christmas plans with us."

"Christmas plans?" Kuki and Wally asked at the same time.

"Since we all get along so well, we thought about having Christmas together, and we decided that it would probably be a really nice time." Kayla gave a little glance to Wally which he got confused about until she spoke up again "Especially since our oldest children seem to be sweethearts."

Wally nearly choked on his noodles while Kuki could have sworn her head exploded from embarrassment. Yet she found herself padding Wally's back a little harsh to make sure he wouldn't actually choke, watching worried as tears streamed to his eyes while he coughed vehemently, his face turning red.

"We're not sweethearts." Wally spat breathlessly "We're just friends."

Kuki nodded at his statement to let Kayla know that he was telling the truth, but she still kept giving them that mischievous smile of hers, while Wilbert laughed in amusement—as if to tell them they didn't need to be embarrassed by it.

"If you say so." Kayla sang, turning her attention back to the television, while Wally caught sight of Joey who wrinkled his nose a little. He always did that when girlfriends were being brought up, but Wally just supposed that was what was expected of a seven-year-old.

* * *

**2013 Rewrite. Originally written between October 21st 2010 - March 31st 2011. I hope you enjoyed this rewrite.**

**Criticism and/or advices on improvement is/are highly appreciated and welcome :)**

**~*~TippierCoffee~*~**


	13. Betrayal

**Author: TippierCoffee**

**Disclaimer: I do not own—nor do I claim the rights to—any of the characters from the show **_**Codename: Kids Next Door**_**. All credit goes to rightful owner: Mr. Tom Warburton.**

**LTLY series: 1. Learning To Love You; 2. Again; 3. Alone; 4. Ever After.**

**OBS: I gave Wally's parents names. Mum: Kayla Beetles, dad: Wilbert Beetles.**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

Betrayal.

Wally exited the school bus along with Hoagie, still chuckling about a joke Hoagie had told, which Wally really had found amusing. Ahead of him Kuki walked side by side with Abby, talking with a smile upon her face and skip to her step. They had of course met at the bus stop again this morning, but they had both decided to sit separately because of the things that had happened between them lately.

Neither of them wanted to keep going like that because that's not who they were or wanted to be, and they were both a little frightened that this new attraction they had to each other was caused by the loneliness, or longing, for their best friend. Their Christmas come together hadn't exactly been bad, on the contrary. They had actually both had a very good time.

Kuki had come over a couple of hours before her parents, carrying with her, the duck for the Christmas feast. She had been very excited and bouncy as usual, and skipped along with a giggle. Because Wally had been called down only moments before, he ended up saving her from falling to the floor when she stumbled over a bump in the carpet.

It had all gone so fast, yet it had seemed like slow motion. She had been skipping and humming, then she had tripped and gravity had started pulling her down while her face changed into one of surprise. While that was happening to her, Wally skipped the last few steps of the stairs, landed somewhat heavily beside her, his bend knees and outstretched arms allowing him to catch her only moments before her face made impact with the floor. Unfortunately she had dropped the dock to the floor, but fortunately it was still wrapped so nothing major had happened to it and they had been able to prepare it without any trouble.

Though both Wally and Kuki wanted to help out in the kitchen, and did go out there every once in a while and actually helped, Wally's mother had essentially made them leave the kitchen because it became too crowded. So instead they had gone into the living room and sat themselves on the couch, Wally sitting between Kuki and Joey, who had already put on _Home Alone 2_ which had just started as the two of them sat down. For some reason, being near each other like that, and because they both probably had a desire to stay up late that evening, they had ended up falling asleep against each other less than halfway through the movie.

They had sat like that until the movie had ended, and conveniently enough for them Kuki's family had _just_ entered after the end credits. They had taken their dishes to the kitchen before Kani had gone to check up on his daughter. His reaction when he saw the two of them had been quite hilarious, Kuki and Wally had been told. Evidently Kani's face had gone pale and his jaw had dropped, before he had pointed to the two with a somewhat angered expression upon his face, thereafter spitting out why they were sitting like that. As far as Wally had heard Genki had tried to calm him down then, saying they were just sleeping and nothing seemed to be really going on—nothing but innocence and bliss.

Wally could still recall the sensation he'd had when he was woken and realized how comfortably him and Kuki were snuggled up. First his face had stated burning—or so it felt like—then he had gone dizzy while his heart started pounding very loudly, making him feel like he was going to die from loss of air though he strangely found he wouldn't mind that. Then his mind had been overtaken with confusion, and the feeling of everything inside him sinking to his lower abdomen, when Kuki had gotten up with a smile and skipped up to the table, seemingly unaffected.

Wally still couldn't quite figure out what was going on with Kuki, as she seemed to be both pushing and pulling at the same time, even though it most likely was unintentional. He wasn't even entirely sure what was going on between the two of them if anything was actually going on, because he knew they definitely had been flirting after he told about his past, and after that they had both become more—and less—physical with each other.

They still playfully shoved each other, though both of them would claim in their heads it was only friendly teasing, and a couple of times here and there a subliminal sexual suggestion would exit their mouth, formed by their subconscious. In the end Wally had decided he would stop worrying too much about it and just settle for thinking of it as friendly affection, while putting their flirtatious endeavor behind him—just like Kuki seemed to have done.

Speaking of the devil… He saw Hoagie and Kuki swap positions, so swiftly that he almost didn't notice it happen. The only reason he actually saw and was brought back to the present was because Hoagie had elbowed him while complaining about him spacing out, then he had gone to Abby, which had resulted in Kuki going to his side.

"Good morning." She said with her usual smile, making Wally feel both excited and somewhat depressed all at once.

"Morning." He replied, sending her a flash of a shot-lived smile of his own.

"I'm sorry if I made things awkward between us after the whole your mother bringing out the mistletoe thing" She frowned, though only shortly.

"Oh no, not at all." He said breathlessly "It was only on the cheek, so no harm done really."

"I'm glad to hear that."

That was another thing that had bothered him a little. She seemed to not have been bothered by it at all, and even though she still did kind of seem like it hadn't affected her, something about the way she had apologized to him made him think that it actually _had_.

They had just finished eating the Christmas feast, all eight of them, when his mother had pulled that prank—or whatever it was. She had gently sneaked out of her chair, her feet a little wobbly because of her intoxication, though it was no worse for the wear, then she had come back hiding something behind her back. In fits of giggles she had placed herself behind Wally and Kuki , who had been sitting next to each other and actually conversing quite well, everything taken into consideration. No sexual tension between them, no flirtatious behaviour either, just friendly chit-chat; the way it was supposed to be.

"Guess what I have?" His mother had sung while letting out a giggle.

"I don't know mum, what do you have?" Wally had asked, amused because of the state his mother had been in.

However, when she had pulled out the mistletoe and presented it with a somewhat victorious _Tadaa_, Wally had felt his face grow pale while simultaneously burst into fire. He wasn't exactly sure why, but the thought of Kuki and himself being caught underneath the mistletoe both made him feel excited and agitated. Of course Kuki had just let out that silly giggle of hers and looked to him in amusement, while blurting out in a sing-song manner.

"Why not."

"What do you mean why not?" Wally had hissed while looking to he with a baffled look "I'm dating Amber, and I'm not exactly sure about your status with mars man."

"Come on Wally." Kuki had sung teasingly "Just on the cheek, no harm done."

He wasn't sure why, but the thought of him kissing Kuki on the cheek, and her kissing him on the cheek… He had to admit, although he tried his hardest not to notice, her lips _did_ look pretty soft. What would he do if they were though; if they made him want to feel them all the time? He could definitely not be walking around in his every day kissing her on the cheek, and she could also not walk around kissing him on the cheek, so maybe this was not the best idea. However, he found himself frowning before giving in to her.

"Fine," he groaned "but only this once." He heard Kuki let out a giggle while he turned his head and eyes away from her, making sure she could only hit his cheek.

She had carefully leaned in with a playful smile, probably not thinking much of it, while Wally had been mentally cussing at himself. If this ever left the house and travelled to the school, everyone would start talking about it and calling him a player, which he was not. He would never actually cheat on someone, not even Amber, and if he had played her he had also played himself, and it most certainly had not been on purpose. Though, when Kuki's lips had collided with his cheek their warmth had spread to all of his face—which he for a moment had wondered whether or not was possible—then his heart had started racing in his chest and a million of butterflies had started fluttering around in his belly. Then she had left, the heat and plush of her lips upon his cheeks feeling like a mind numbing emptiness, before turning her head and pointing to her own cheek cheekily. He had sighed one more time before giving in to her yet again and planted a soft kiss upon her cheek, he hadn't been sure if she had felt the same sensation she had, but he could have sworn he'd heard her let out a little giggle accompanied by a silent sigh.

Back in the present Wally gave Kuki a little smile reassuring her everything was fine and nothing was ruined between them, before knocking her shoulder lightly while making a popping sound with his tongue, which cause her to laugh and send him a smile, her eyes gleaming with what he thought was more than just friendly affection—then again, he was sure it was just him imagining things and he should really not let this thing get out of hand.

"Good morning." A voice said behind them, both seemingly annoyed and cheerful "Happy new year babe."

Wally turned to face Amber, his smile and look of affection momentarily changing, just to be replaced by something he really hoped would not give him away. Although he knew what was going to happen, and what he needed to do and say, he found himself letting Amber pull him in and plant a kiss right on his lips, which he hastily returned to not make her too agitated. Especially taking into consideration he actually didn't know how much of his and Kuki's conversations she had overheard, or how much of their closeness and behaviour she had misinterpreted.

* * *

_11.35pm_

While impatiently standing in line in the cafeteria, Wally cocked his head a little, looking around for any sign of Kuki or Amber. Amber he had spoken to briefly before classroom change, but the whole ordeal about breaking up with her he hadn't done yet, he wasn't planning to before school ended either to be honest. He knew Amber might just take it as an opportunity to start a scene and that was something he could live without to be quite honest. Safe for Nigel and Hoagie he hadn't seen the others either for a good amount of time, he felt a little lonely like this to be honest. It seemed like it had been ages ago all seven of them had been sharing table, although they had probably done that before Christmas break. While curiously looking around he caught sight of Hoagie, Abby, Nigel and Rachel, though no Kuki and no Amber. He did, however, notice that Hoagie had sneaked his hand into Abby's and she held back a little loosely, not pulling away. Must have been something that happened over Christmas between the two of them and for a moment he wondered why Hoagie hadn't told him about it since they were pretty close, but maybe it was because Hoagie was a bit worried Wally might tease him with it? Whatever the reason was Wally could respect it though.

"He-ho cockroach." Hoagie chuckled, letting go of Abby's hand and giving Wally a little bump on the shoulder which was quickly returned.

"'Sup sandwich?" Wally gave back "Any of you seen Kuki or Amber?"

"Amber was in French class." Abby contemplated, taking her place in the line and moving along with it "Kuki I haven't really seen since first period. Abby does wonder what happened to the girl?"

Wally got an unsettling feeling he couldn't really pinpoint, all he knew was that it felt like a heavy stone inside his stomach and he didn't like it. He wondered what could have happened to Kuki and if Amber had anything to do with it. But Amber wouldn't hurt Kuki, would she? They were practically best friends with a close bond, that seemed to have been torn apart the moment Wally had decided to date Amber. That was another thing that made his stomach sink even further as he took 'his' seat at 'their table', the other four closely behind. Guilt. If he had caused two perfectly good friends to fall apart, he wasn't sure he would ever be able to forgive himself. He might even become upset enough to leave this group of friends all together and where would he stand then? Alone and most likely in the mercy of the leather-jacket-gang, although even they had left him be long ago. Then he'd have to sit with the soccer guys constantly, and while the idea didn't sound exactly bad to him it also didn't sound incredibly attractive.

He was just about to take his leave, even though conversation had just broken out between the five of them, about how their Christmas and new year's had been, and what new things had happened to them over Christmas break, when he saw a very angry and hurt looking Amber storm right up to him, her hands curled into fists and tears tingling at the edge of her eyes.

"Tell me it's not true." She demanded, her lips quivering vehemently.

"What is?" Wally asked dumb founded, feeling the eyes of the four others rest on both him and Amber, which in turn made him extremely embarrassed.

"Don't play dumb with me, you know what I'm talking about!" She spat, a little too loud for Wally's liking.

"Could you quiet down and take a seat?" Wally hissed, feeling his cheeks burn up as more eyes were turned his way "Talk to me normally please."

"Screw you!" She cried "I knew I was right, about you and Kuki, she just told me herself. You totally have something going on behind my back!"

Wally hated everything that was going on right now. He hated the eyes staring at him, the awkwardness that was oozing off of his friends, the accusations that he was so fed up with that he was being pushed over the brim. He did _not_ need this discussion to be as public as Amber was making it, he never needed anything to be as overly public as Amber had made it. He pushed his lunch tray further into the middle of the table with an agitated sigh and got up taking a hold of Amber's wrist, probably harder than he meant to, which made her whine out very loudly.

"You're hurting me, let go of me!" It sounded like cruddy abuse to him, and probably everyone else, so with the last of his strength he leaned into her and hissed, as politely as he possibly could.

"Please don't make a cruddy scene! Let's go to the hallway." Without waiting for her answer he started dragging her along, eyes following him and whispers rising, people no doubt calling him a wife-beater by now because of the way Amber was whining, and crying and wriggling herself in his grip, while she kept screaming about how much he hurt her.

He kept pulling her along, her screams never seizing, her words stating to threaten him with a lawsuit for abuse mixed with her constant accusations of him having an affair with Kuki. He could feel it, his blood heating to boiling point, ready to make him explode and yell out at her, only making the scene she was causing so much worse. He had to do everything possible in his might and take _very_ deep breath takes—which made him feel like his ribs were going to burst—as he dragged her into an empty classroom and closed the door behind them. Screw people who would think he had taken her in here to beat her up, screw everyone in the world thinking anything ill of him without having proof, screw them!

"Will you _please_ stop screaming like that?!" He yelled, once finally having managed to sit her down. He watched as she was rubbing her wrist where a mark had formed, only because she had wriggled as much as she had, but it would no doubt be turned around to be only his fault.

"Tell me what this is about." He demanded in an agitated voice, though he still somehow managed to remain calm.

"You cheating on me, what else?" She spat

"I am _not_ cheating on you." He growled

"I know you are, even without proof I know. I figured long ago if you could I could, so let's just put the cards on the table here. Because I already knew about your sexual affair with Kuki—"

"There is nothing sexual between us."

"I started having a sexual affair with a guy called Roy. There!" Wally sat there completely flabbergasted by her statement. He wasn't sure how long, but it did certainly explain why she felt somewhat annoyed that he didn't want to have a sexual intimacy with her. Because she was already having one with someone else, for God knows how long.

"Woah, woah, woah, back up." He said, waving his hands in front of him "So you mean to tell me that you had a sexual affair with someone behind my back, yet I'm the one being accused of cheating, when the closest thing to cheating I have ever come to with Kuki is a peck on the cheek because my mum thought it would be cruddy hilarious to pull out a mistletoe and put it above us while she was intoxicated?"

"So it was true?!" Amber whined hurt, while tears streamed to her face "I always knew I could never trust the two of you to be alone, that's why I wanted you to not be together that often, and now this is what I get?"

"What do you cruddy mean?" Wally asked back, feeling more agitated than he could ever remember having felt in his life "I'm the one who's been betrayed here even though I've gone so much out of my way to please you. I've practically let you grind yourself against me in the hallway, which I think is over doing it and not very charming, I've been bossed around and suffocated by your possessive behaviour, ripped from my friends, found I couldn't tell this to you honestly because you would blame it all on this made-up affair I have with Kuki in your head, yet now I'm the one being told you're having a sexual affair with someone else behind my back when I'm doing way too many cruddy things for you?!

"You know what you are Amber? You are a hypocrite, you are excruciating to be with, you are crazy possessive, you think you can have anything you point your finger at and that rules don't apply to you. You are spoiled and selfish, and I don't care how cruel I sound now, or if I'm being a douche, but I've dealt with this for too cruddy long just to be tossed to the ground and spat on, because you're playing justice in your own little head.

"Well guess what? I am sick and cruddy tired of it, I am done with it. If you think you can play with me like a marionette puppet you are cruddy damn wrong, because I am not a possession. I am a person with feelings, cruddy believe it or not, who will still need my space and a certain amount of respect. Respect I have desperately tried to give you and find for you, excuses to why what you did made sense, but I am done with it. This was the last straw by far Amber. It is over, it is done, we are done!

"I don't even cruddy care if you turn this around to be all my fault anymore, I find I don't even cruddy care if you tell people I just abused you or what-cruddy-ever, I am done with your bullshit and snobby bitch behaviour!"

He wasn't even sure how it had come to this, how it had ended up being something heated and overly offensive and cruel, he had actually been practicing how to let her down easily and gently to show that he at least still cared for her—because until now he'd been convinced he did. Quite frankly though, he found he actually didn't care right now. Let them all think what they wanted, he knew the truth and that was all he needed. Even though the silence that followed his rant was deafening and he could hear himself heaving in puffs as if he had just been jogging or fighting, he didn't care anymore. Not about eavesdroppers or anyone who wouldn't hear his side of the story too before judging him.

Then it happened; a domino effect of weird happening he couldn't quite distinguish, and somehow he felt guilty for letting this happen.

Amber started sobbing, then she started shaking, then she started full out crying like a little child. Her legs were trembling so violently below her it looked like she would fall to the ground, but if she did Wally wasn't even sure anymore if he wanted to catch her. Not because she had betrayed him, even though that had definitely come as a very unpleasant surprise, but because of everything he had let her put him through, all because of something that now seemed like a temporary crush that had gone out of hand.

"You are so mean!" She whined "I can't believe you actually just said that to me. How insensitive can you be? Guess it just comes to show you can't trust people from the middle or lower class. I always knew I should have gone to private high school, there people at the least have some fucking class! I hate you!" With that she walked to him and hit him in one of those typical. over dramatized ways that he always thought only existed in bad chick flicks, then she ran off down the hallway, bawling very loudly—probably to make sure everyone knew she had just been dumped. He peeked out and saw her running out of the school for good, probably to go home and gossip to her caretaker, feeding her all the lies Amber had made up in her head before having her help her transfer to a private high school.

He could feel everything within him momentarily burn down and exhaust him, before a weight was lifted from his shoulders and made him feel light as a feather. He was free of Amber and her somewhat insecure and tyrannic way of acting, and he felt both good and terrible about it.

* * *

_3.35pm_

At least Wally could look forward to Hoagie tossing the occasional joke after guessing what ad happened, and Abby telling him it was about time because she had seen Amber's change in behaviour too. Though Nigel and Rachel didn't comment much on what had happened, they too seemed to agree, and all four of them at least seemed to believe Wally's side of the story more than Amber's. Although they of course tried to look at it from perspective and agreed with him, that the way he had ended up ultimately going about it probably hadn't been the best in the world.

Because there was no soccer practice until the middle of January or something the four friends had offered Wally to join them, something about a milkshake café. Although he had declined because he kind of felt like just sitting a little by himself and taking everything in, which all four of them had respected.

He was a bit worried if he would end up becoming possessive or accusing of the next girlfriend he got, if her ever got any, because of the whole cheating thing. Sure, the flame with Amber hadn't been that strong for a good part of their relationship, but she had still meant something special to him and he'd been convinced he too had meant something special to her, but obviously he hadn't. It did something to his pride—or that's what he though at least—to be so utterly betrayed to someone you gave yourself and your trust to. What if he could never do it again? He also worried about Kuki's whereabouts and how Amber might be doing now. If she was causing a scene, being suicidal or just being bitter and getting even more stuck up and actually was serious about the whole private high school thing.

He sighed when he came to a halt in front of Kuki's house. He had hardly even noticed he had ended up here, but somehow he had. Maybe because he was more worried about Kuki than he thought he was, and maybe he would feel more at ease if he knew where she was? That had to be it, it seemed to be true in his head and make sense to him; so he knocked the door and waited for an answer.

"Hello Wallabee" Kani greeted, using his full name as always. Wally didn't know exactly why, but he wasn't going to nag him about it.

"Hey Mr. Sanban." he smiled "Is Kuki home?"

"No?" Kani said, peeking a little into the street "I thought she'd be with you as usual." Wally swallowed a lump feeling himself go pale for a moment, then he shook his head and changed his expression of shock into one of comfort and determination.

"I'll go look for her."

"Call if you find her." Kani called after him as he started running down the streets as fast as he could "If you haven't called within ten minutes I'll report her missing to the police!"

Wally stopped when he came to the corner where their bus went from when he realized he had no idea where to look, first of all, and he only had ten minutes to find Kuki, or at least locate her. He didn't even have a plan, or a start point, he had just dashed off aimlessly because he'd been worried.

-_Moron!_- he scolded himself, sending his hand to his face with a slap. For a while he thought before the obvious stroke him and yet another facepalm was carried out. -_Of course…_-

He fished up his phone, found Kuki's number and rang. Pressing the phone to his ear, while leaning against a wall, he found himself silently praying for her to pick up and be okay. Although the tone signaling his phone was connecting to hers was killing him at the moment and when he heard the clicking sound of her phone being picked up, his heart leaped in relief only to be shot down again by the voice mail.

"_Kuki-desu. I can't answer my phone right now, so leave a message. K, bye!_"

"God… Cruddy sheila, stupid voice mail…" Wally kept mumbling and cussing under his breath as he tried once more, this time the connection tone didn't last as long before the phone was picked up, and he heard a sob on the other line.

"Kuki?" He asked breathlessly, the worry growing into a monster that was tearing him apart form the inside "Kuki, are you okay, where are you?"

"_She locked me in._" Kuki sobbed on the other end "_I don't even know if anyone is out there, but if they are they're ignoring me. I want to go home._" She started crying while hiccuping and hyperventilating, he could practically hear her shivering, which made his temperature rise and his nostrils flare, while his free hand acted on its own and curled into a fist.

"Kuki, I need you to calm down okay, take a deep breath and calm down." He heard her make her best attempts on the other end, and even though she was still sobbing like mad, at least it sounded like she wasn't going to faint from hyperventilating.

"Look, I need to hang up with you for two minutes to tell your father I found you okay? But I promise, as soon as he knows I'll call back, find you and get you out, okay?"

"_Okay._" She cried, her voice hardly recognizable "B_ut ple-ease don't take too long._"

"I won't, I'll be right with you." He hung up to call Kani and let him know he had found Kuki's location and was now on his way to pick her up. Then he called Kuki back, had her tell him her whereabouts, and kept having the phone pressed to his ear while breathlessly trying to calm her down as he raced for Garfield Heights.

* * *

_4.15pm_

He dashed inside the school grounds and knocked on the principals door, thanking the heavens that at least the cheerleaders would have practice in about fifteen minutes until five pm, which meant the school still wasn't locked. The principal looked up from her chair as Wally entered, his face beat red from the cold, his breath caught in his throat, his phone to his ear and his eyes full of hurt, hatred and worry.

"I'm here now, in front of the principal." he panted into the phone "Tell me where you got locked up again?"

"_The equipment room in the big gymnastics hall_" she sobbed.

"One moment." Wally then said, before putting the phone to his chest and looking bewildered to the principal "Ma'am, it seems Amber Stanton has locked Kuki Sanban inside of the equipment room in the big gymnastic hall since around ten this morning, could you possibly come lock her out?" For a moment the principal looked to Wally as though he was joking, but the boy's constantly flickering eyes which screamed for assistance told hem otherwise though.

"Of course" she said, fishing up her bundle of keys before standing next to Wally.

"We're on our way," he breath into the phone "just hang in there Kuki."

Only five minuted or less passed by, which included him jogging in the hallway _with the principal_ before they came to the big hall. All lights were off and it looked completely abandoned, which it had been all day. A shame physical education was in a different hall than this one, otherwise Kuki would have been found a long time ago and she wouldn't have to sit here without any source of light, all alone, and feel scared. The principal fished the key out of her jean pocket, unlocked the door to the equipment room and opened the door, only to find Kuki sitting on the floor, her face wet from tears and her phone pressed to her ear.

"Wally!" She whined, tossing her phone to the ground with a small _cluck_, before she with trembling legs got up and tossed herself into his arms. "I was so scared, and I had to toss my phone to the floor so Amber wouldn't take it from me, but when she locked me in I couldn't find it! I don't even know how she had a key to the lock, but I'm so glad you called, I thought I'd have to be here until the cheerleaders came. Then I got scared about them not finding me, and I just, I just…"

"It's okay Kuki." Wally muttered into her hair, holding her close while observing the principal pick up Kuki's phone before she locked the door to the equipment room again "Don't worry, it's gonna be okay, I found you see? Don't worry, I'm here now."

"I believe this is yours." The principal announced, somewhat awkwardly, while handing Kuki her phone "Now, not to sound bossy or anything, but I think it would be best if you went home for now and calmed your nerves, and then we'll work on a punishment for Miss Amber Stanton tomorrow."

"Okay." Kuki sobbed, clutching her phone to her chest and putting it into her pocket, without even checking if she had hung up. Wally, however, did hang up before putting his phone into his pocket, and then he lead Kuki out of the school and all the way home, letting her lean into him while holding her firmly and caressing her shoulders gently.

A strong embrace which felt safe and unbreakable and which gave Kuki so much gratitude for having a friend like him. She knew the others cared about her, but maybe figured she had gone elsewhere and would show up later, but Wally had been the first to call and the one to find her. She wondered why though, although she wouldn't hold a grudge against her friends who had their own things to attend to and might have gotten lost in them. Even she did that sometimes and became oblivious to other's feelings and whereabouts. Even though she was definitely still trembling, she found herself leaning closer into Wally, almost snuggling into him, while being grateful for such a comforting embrace.

* * *

**2013 Rewrite. Originally written between October 21st 2010 - March 31st 2011. I hope you enjoyed this rewrite.**

**Criticism and/or advices on improvement is/are highly appreciated and welcome :)**

**~*~TippierCoffee~*~**


	14. Me, jealous?

**Author: TippierCoffee**

**Disclaimer: I do not own—nor do I claim the rights to—any of the characters from the show **_**Codename: Kids Next Door**_**. All credit goes to rightful owner: Mr. Tom Warburton.**

**LTLY series: 1. Learning To Love You; 2. Again; 3. Alone; 4. Ever After.**

**OBS: I gave Wally's parents names. Mum: Kayla Beetles, dad: Wilbert Beetles.**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

Me, jealous?

_Wednesday February 14th._

Some rumours had travelled the school halls, second guessing of why Amber Stanton had changed schools. Many thought it was because of Wally breaking up with her and being harsh to her, but then again, the school's newspaper had somehow gotten a hold of the story about Amber locking Kuki into the equipment room. It seemed their main witness had been the principal who at the very least hadn't mentioned Kuki's name, so no one asked her about it. Mostly, the people who thought they'd known Amber were just shocked with these news, and to Wally's great relief the story had dimmed down the rumours about him abusing Amber. Though some had then turned it around to Amber abusing him, which he wasn't exactly sure what to feel about, so he had decided he wouldn't bother too much about it.

The thing that got to Wally, however, was the guilt. The guilt of feeling like he was responsible for tearing a friendship apart. There had been Amber, and Abby, and Rachel, and Kuki. Rachel lived close enough to Amber that they had often walked to school together, and even though they didn't share a lot of common interests they had gotten along and been good friends. While Abby seemed to be a bit torn about what she had thought of Amber—even when Amber had seemed okay—she too could at least tolerate the orange-haired girl. Then there was of course the question of Kuki, who had more or less been best friends with Amber. They had shared a lot, been together a lot, had had so much fun, and now it had all been taken away because… Well, yeah, because Amber had been a bitch, but Wally still felt like he was the reason Amber had fallen down the way she had. Because, before they dated, Amber ad been so relaxed about many things, and maybe if she had dated someone other than him, the whole jealousy and distrust to Kuki would not have spurred up, again leading back to the fact, that Amber would not have snapped.

* * *

_8.30 am_

Everywhere anyone looked in the school, the walls were decorated with bright and glittery reds, purples and pinks. It was like a suffocating ocean, reminding a lot of some princess palace. A playground place for young girls if anything. It made Wally's eyes feel like they were watering, threatening to fall out of his head, sending a foul taste to the back of his mouth. He was sure he would gag at any moment now if he did not soon see, just a single wall, that was cleared and empty of any sort of decoration. Unfortunately, he was not that lucky. And as if the overly decorated walls weren't enough, there were couples hanging around in the hallways, endorsed in heavy making out, tongues smacking against tongues, moans erupting every here and there.

There was that one couple, that one Wally always knew his eyes could not help but catch in any ordinary everyday situation, because they were always clinging to each other, who were now more or less suffocating each other, trying to swallow each other's tongues. To top it off and make things worse, there were the ones giving cards, the ones confessing, the ones yelling _Happy Valentine_ at the top of their lungs. It was like being caught in a very badly written teenage romance flick, where the plot was in a high school, and you had to follow this one couple who you just wanted to get together, even though the guy was a shallow prick and the girl was a clueless, helpless, naïve person, who was so sure, love would solve all of her problems.

"I wish today would have been a Saturday." Wally grumbled " We would be on winter break, and I would not be forced to look at all of this" he gestured his hands to the hallway, though their general direction seemed to point at only the posters.

"Awh come on Wally, cheer up," Kuki chirped "it's Valentine's day, the day of love and affection, probably also appreciation. I personally really like it. Ooh, especially my family's tradition of sitting down and having an appreciation day, where we remember to say what we really like about each other, and what we appreciate and are grateful for. That is so nice. Also, have you seen these posters?!"

"They're hard to miss…"

"This one is so pretty. Oh, wait, wait, this one is even prettier. No, no, no, no, no, wait. This one is definitely the prettiest of them all."

"They all look the same, Kuki."

"No they don't. I mean sure, they look similar, but not the same. Oh wait; this one!" She exclaimed, pointing to a poster over doused with glitter "This one is definitely the prettiest poster in the entire school."

Wally just responded by rolling his eyes and giving a groan, hoping this day would just end so he could get out of the overly pink scenario, and drown under the darkness of his comfortable duvet. Forgetting that today was the worst day in the calendar. Especially if you were in a relationship.

* * *

_11.40 pm_

They had used the entirety of five long minutes—that seemed like an eternity—in line for lunch. Today's special was something the cafeteria staff had tried to sell as the perfect love meal, though to Wally it just looked like ordinary spaghetti with meat sauce. Granted, it was those long spaghettis, so people could of course pretend to do a re-enactment of _Lady and the tramp_, where they would take one end of the spaghetti each, then eat it until their lips met, and they could get an excuse to make out in the middle of lunch, thereby making Wally lose his appetite. Sure, if people wanted to be in love, let them, but couldn't they at least be down to earth and a little less PDA about it. Like Rachel and Nigel. You could hardly tell they were dating, but you could definitely tell they had more than a friendship between them. At least they weren't shoving each other's tongues into each other's mouths and having sex on the floor—luckily no one was having sex on the floor.

"Happy Valentine's day" came Abby's chill voice as she sat down by the table, closely followed by Hoagie.

"I swear, if I hear anyone else say that crud to me, I will barf on the table. Ooh, happy Valentine's day, blegh!" Wally showed a finger to his mouth, while sticking his tongue out. Childish? Maybe, but he honestly didn't care at all.

"I bet you're just saying that because you don't have a girlfriend." Kuki mumbled, sticking her tongue out when Wally shot her a nasty glare.

"You know what, Kuki. I honesty couldn't care less if I am single or not on Valentine's day, I just dislike the day. It should be removed form the calendar, burned, forgotten, killed off. To be honest, I'm actually cruddy happy that I'm single. Look around, all these stupid girls being all like 'ooh, what 'cha gonna get me honeeey? Nothing? Oh my God you don't love me! What I will get you? Nothing of course, only the girl gets a present, don't you know that?', psh!"

"You don't think _all_ girls are like that, do you?" Abby asked, her voice coated with a venom, just waiting to be directed at Wally for his statement. "Surely, with friends like us, you must know that there are many different female behaviours, not just one."

"I know that." Wally scowled "This is just the one I seem to catch up on. It bugs me. And would you quit texting while we're eating?" He directed his attention to Kuki who was opening the umpteenth text during lunch.

"Sorry, it's just Derick. He's asking about taking me on a date, and I am now trying to confirm with my parents. Not that it's any of your concern."

"Oh, of course" Wally snorted, his voice heavy with sarcasm "Mars-man invites you out on Valentine's day. Very original."

"What is your problem with him anyway?" Kuki snapped "You always tease him for his name whenever he comes up in a discussion."

"No I don't."

"Yes you do."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Okay children!" Abby interrupted them "Can we save the arguments for some other time. And Wally, really, pack your jealousy away."

"Jealousy?!" Wally shrieked. A little too loud for even his own liking "Why the crud would I be jealous of _Derick_." He made sure to say Derick's name in a ridiculing manner.

" Don't know, why would you?" Abby asked, a shimmer of mischief playing across her orange-looking eyes, making them seem to catch on fire.

"I'm not jealous." Wally huffed, leaning back into his chair with crossed arms. Glaring at Kuki who giggled as she read her newly received text "What now?" he asked in exasperation.

"Well, my parents said I could, so I told Derick yes to going out with him, and he just wrote back that he would pick me up by the gates. Means you get to see him in the flesh. But Wally, please don't be rude to him. I will end you if you are." And with that, she started eating with a big smile on her face, as if she hadn't just basically threatened to kill Wally if he was mean to her boyfriend—or whatever Derick was to her.

Abby looked a little between Kuki's amused expression, and Wally's borrified, yet somewhat disgusted expression, then got an idea in an instant, and went along with it, coating every syllable in an obviously playful manner. Clearly trying to get a reaction out of Wally, even though Kuki remained oblivious to it.

"So Kuki." Abby coaxed "This Derick guy, do you like him?"

"Hm?" Kuki looked up, then quickly turned her attention to her phone again when she felt herself blushing "I don't know. Maybe."

"Maybe?" Abby questioned, her smile growing when she noticed Wally's nostrils flaring in disapproval "What's that supposed to mean? Is that like, maybe as in: I think so yes, or maybe as in: I really don't think so?"

"I guess… I think so…" Kuki muttered, now seemingly trying to avoid looking to Wally, who rolled his eyes and let out a snort, mumbling something incoherent under his breath, while stuffing his mouth as if to cover it up.

"Have you told him yet, or are you waiting for him to tell you?" Abby continued, amusing herself.

"Well… Since I'm not too sure I don't want to say I like him. What if it's just a silly crush, and then he will be sad. Besides, I don't think he likes me that way."

"Girl. He invited you out on _Valentine's day_. If there was ever a sign, to say without words: hey, I really like you; this is it." Abby locked eyes with Wally, whose eyes flashed from anger, to confusion, to annoyance.

"What 'ya looking at me for, Abby?" He complained, stuffing his mouth.

"No reason really." Abby sneered, enjoying the exchange of Kuki's glances between herself and Wally. What an amusing thing it was to have these two as friends.

* * *

_1.55 pm_

A thousand of students ran out of their classrooms to pack their bags with whatever books they would need to do whichever assignments they ad been given over the course of enter break. Though many students were of course still left, stuck in the school's building, Wally, Kuki, Abby, Nigel, Rachel and Hoagie were fortunate enough to be off early today. They walked into the school yard, the air teasing at their jackets, beanies, and hair. It was a subtle motion, filled with so much freshness, it was like tasting air for the first time in their lives. It cleared up their heads and made their eyes water.

Leaning by the fence, stood a tall muscular guy, with a squared jaw. His chin was rounded, which made his jaw look just a little softer, and his strawberry-blond hair was pulled back. Not completely slick, but with a bit of volume, and stray locks peeking out here and there. His slim almond eyes were focused, yet lit up with an undeniable fondness when he saw the person of his affection.

"Kuki!" He called out to her, waving a hand above his head. Wally took another angry look at him, trying to measure his height. He must have been about one hundred and eighty centimetres tall.

"Hi Derick!" She yelled across the yard, not caring about the number of eyes following her to the handsome stranger, standing close to nothing else but a Porsche. It was laying low to the ground washed, polished, and screaming of wealth. As if Derick's looks alone didn't give away his wealth. With the leather jacket, it interior made of lambs wool, and the bleached Colgate smile; he also had to show off by having an overly expensive car, flashing in the sun, attracting the attention from a couple of the students—guys and girls alike.

"I assume these are your friends?" Derick asked, when the gang came to the other side of the fence.

"Yes." Kuki chirped. "These are my friends, Abby, Rachel, Nigel Hoagie, and my best friend, Wally."

Derick nodded to them all with a relaxed smile, until his eyes fell on Wally's. Wally's eyes were full of suspicion and he seemed to try to kill Derick with his look alone. For a moment they looked to each other—well, Derick looked and Wally glared. Then Wally opened his mouth and out came a snarl.

"If you hurt her, I swear I will end you."

"Wally!" Kuki complained, giving him a strict look. A look full of disappointment. But behind her, Derick laughed off Wally's remark.

"Best friends." He snickered "I bet. It's good to know you have someone who will have your back Kuki. And Wally, don't worry, so long as Kuki is with me, I will not let her get hurt. I give you my word." He turned his attention to Kuki again, amusement dancing in his eyes, shrugging off the apologetic look Kuki send him.

"Shall we?" Derick asked, offering his elbow for Kuki to grab onto.

"Sure." She smiled, taking his elbow, letting him lead her to the passenger seat, where he very gentleman-like opened the door for her, let her enter and closed the door after her again. He then looked to the group of friends, gave a small salute, and then he entered his car and drove off.

"Show off." Wally mumbled, glaring at the Porsche as it disappeared.

"Jealous." Abby sang in amusement, making at least Hoagie laugh, and the group of friends went each their way.

* * *

**2013-2014 Rewrite. Originally written between October 21st 2010 - March 31st 2011. I hope you enjoyed this rewrite.**

**Criticism and/or advices on improvement is/are highly appreciated and welcome :)**

**~*~TippierCoffee~*~**


	15. Bruises

Written by: TippierCoffee

Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door, Mr. Tom Warburton does. I do however own all the other characters.

OBS: I gave Wally's parents names. Father: Wilbert Beetles, Mother: Kayla Beetles

Enjoy :)

* * *

Bruises

"Kuki!" Mrs. Sanban stormed into the room to comfort her crying daughter "Kani dear, could you untie her?" "Of course" Kani mumbled untying Kuki before exiting the room so Kuki could get room to change "Who broke your window?"Genki asked her daughter who was putting on her clothes with great difficulty because she was shaking quite a deal "W-Wally di-id wh-en he ca-ame in to ch-chase D-D-Derick o-out" Kuki sobbed "Like that, well your father called the police because he didn't believe in your friend" Genki said "H-he's n-ot my f-friend!" Kuki sobbed angrily, he had lied to her from the start! He had promised her trust and protection and then used it against her! Her mother put a blanket around Kuki and lead her down to the living room "Do you want some hot chocolate dear?" Genki asked, Kuki nodded weakly and sobbed silently following her mother to the kitchen, a knock came from the door Kani went to answer it with angry steps. "Evening sir" a policeman said "Are you the Mr. Sanban who called in a rape?" "Yes that's me, but that bastard escaped out of the window" "Do not fear good sir, we have him in custody right here" the police man said motioning to his car "We saw him running down the street in great speed looking to every side, it looked suspicious so we arrested him. Turns out he has a file" "That wouldn't surprise me" Kani said sceptically "Honey they caught him!" "They did?" Genki asked coming out with Kuki at her heels "We sure did mam" the officer said tilting his hat, he turned his attention to Kuki "If you want to talk to professionals about what happened here is a card for our psychologist who helps youngsters whom have been exposed to traumatizing happenings" he gave Kuki a little card with a phone number on it "Thank you" she said weakly "But... Are you sure you got the right one? 'Cause one of my friends ran after him" "Sure we did! The Beetles kid... To think he'd rape again, he sure got some nerve!" the officer said shaking his head lightly, Kuki's eyes widened "No! No it wasn't Wally, it was a guy called Derick Marsh, Wally actually saved me" "Miss, I'm sorry to hear that you're so traumatized so you're willing to make up a story for this young man, but fact is he has a file claiming he was involved in a rape February last year" "And that's enough to bring him in?" Kuki asked in disbelief "I'm telling you you've got the wrong guy!" tears started showing in her eyes, the officer ignored her and turned his attention to Mr. Sanban instead "You can always come to the police station and give a testimony, which I recommend you do" "I will!" Kuki screamed before she ran into her mother's kitchen with tears trailing down her cheeks.

* * *

10.30 pm

"For the last time! I didn't try to rape Kuki Sanban, Derick Marsh did!" Wally said impatiently feeling like kicking the officer more and more for every minute that passed by "And I know that, that is a lie! It may have worked when you cried about not touching Rosalind Claudine, but it won't work here pal!" officer Gillespie said just as impatiently tossing a file to the table, the other officer interrogating Wally, officer Doyle, just stood in a corner watching silently "We know all about you Beetles..." "No you see that's the problem" Wally interrupted him" "You _think_ you know everything about me when all you really know is what that stupid file says!" "The file never lies!" officer Gillespie yelled pointing a finger hard to the file, Wally leaned back with annoyance crossing his arms "You can believe what you want but you're wasting your time and letting the real guy escape. Great job officer!". Gillespie was just about to explode and yell something when a knock came from the door "Yes!" he yelled impatiently as another officer popped his head in "We just got Mr. Beetles' phone delivered and Miss Sanban wishes to give a testimony on the happenings" "Good" Gillespie said officer "Send her to Matthews and Sexton, and then you can bring hers and the young Mr. Beetle's phones to the sound guys" the officer nodded and left the room. "Now lets see how good your alibi is Mr. Beetles" Gillespie said as if victory was his, Wally just snorted and crossed his arms "Be my guest" he said impatiently and annoyed "But when you find out I've told the truth I want an apology"

* * *

"So Miss Sanban" officer Matthews said as he sat down across of her, officer Sexton took a seat next to him "Tell us all about what happened please" "Don't worry" officer Sexton butted in "Everything you say in here is confidential so Mr. Beetles will not be told that you revealed him" Kuki rolled her eyes angrily and felt like screaming at them but held it back "Okay... But just so you know it, I'm not making this up, I'm not scared of what ever all of you say I am, so just listen to me and take it 'cause everything I tell you will be the truth" she could feel tears of anger threatening to invade her eyes but she held them back the best she could "Of course Miss Sanban" officer Matthews said "We will listen" he put both of his elbows on the table and knitted his fingers together so his hands formed a ball he could rest his head on, officer Sexton took a sip of his coffee eying the camera which was recording this conversation. Kuki closed her eyes and took a deep breath take before she started telling about Derick and how he had betrayed her trust "Okay... So it all began somewhere in February where I met Derick for the first time..."

* * *

Wham! "Come on Beetles you gotta do better than that! You should know that we're not that easily fooled! Tell me the truth" officer Gillespie slammed his baton hard to the table this time rather than to Wally's face "I did" Wally spat rubbing his aching eye there was a little trace of blood coming from a place near his template "Just wait till I get out 'a here, I'm gonna sue your ass Gillespie!" he looked angrily at the officer who was beaming read in the head "It is _officer_ Gillespie Mr. Beetles!" he raised the baton again when officer Doyle took grasp of his arm "I don't think that's a good idea Gillespie" he said "No really Doyle?" Wally spat "Don't you worry Gillespie I'm gonna file charges on you and have you fired for police violence you stupid asshole!". Officer Gillespie was just about to hit Wally again when a knock came from the door, Gillespie quickly put his baton in it's place "Yes!" he yelled impatiently an officer from the sound department, where both Wally's and Kuki's phones had been sent to so they could hear if Kuki really had called popped his head in "I believe you need to hear this" he said opening the door for them to follow "Cuff 'im Doyle" Gillespie ordered, Doyle did as he was told and followed the two other officers out the door.

* * *

12 am

A rather embarrassed officer Gillespie came in with officer Doyle at his heels, he unlocked Wally's handcuffs and cleared his throat "You are free to go Beetles, don't worry we'll catch that Derick guy for you" he smiled nervously "You do that" Wally said grumpily rubbing his wrists, some dried out blood had settled at the site of his face, Wally found a pen and wrote officer Gillespie's full name on the palm of his right hand "I'm still gonna file charges on you, my friend's mom knows a hell of a lot 'a lawyers so don't you worry 'bout that" and with that he snatched his phone from Doyle, who had brought it back with him, and went out to his parents, his mother was carrying a sleeping seven year old Joey on her arms "Wally" she smiled relieved as she gave Joey to Wilbert so she could embrace her oldest son "I heard about their suspension of you, it's horrible" Wally returned her embrace "Yeah, it's just because I have a file with a similar case in it and I was running away from the house so of course I see why they bring me in, but they didn't have to hit me to make me confess to doing something I haven't done" Wally said grumpily "They hit you?" Kuki gasped, he looked to his right to see that Kuki and her family had come up to them "Yeah" Wally let go of his mother's embrace "I'm gonna file charges on that bastard!" "Wally!" Kayla hissed, she hated it when he swore "Sorry mom" Wally mumbled "But I am, just need to find a good lawyer or something..." he scratched the back of his head a little nervously, Kuki giggled a little "My mom knows tons of lawyers maybe one of them will help?" she looked hopefully at Genki. "Well you did save my daughter Wally so it's the least I can do" "Thanks" Wally smiled "Oh and by the way if you want me to I'll make sure to repay the window I broke" "It's okay" Genki smiled "We've got insurance, we can just say some kid, whom we didn't see who was, tossed a rock on our window out of boredom".

* * *

12.25 am

They had driven home together and Wilbert had agreed to help Mr. Sanban set up some wood in front of Kuki's window so no one could break in, Kayla made hot chocolate while Genki tugged Mushi in her bed and made sure Joey was still fast asleep. Kuki and Wally was in the bathroom downstairs where Kuki was tending Wally's wound "Tss!" Wally hissed "It stings!" "Well that means it works, now hold still!" "But it stings!" "I know! It's supposed to! Sit still or so help me I'll glue your head to the mirror to make you sit still!" Kuki squinted her eyes lightly together focusing on cleaning Wally's wound with the little cleansing tissue. Wally was seated on top of the toilet seat with Kuki hoovering above him, her hair kept falling in front of her face so she always had to put it behind her ear "You know" Wally said eying her "Maybe if you put your hair up while doing this it'd be easier" "Shh! I'm concentrating here!" "I can see that" Wally mumbled "What?" "Nothing" Kuki put on a pout "Stop mocking me" she said hurt "I'm not mocking you" Wally exclaimed "Yes you are" she demanded "No I'm not!" she put a new cleansing tissue to his wound "Ow!" he grabbed her wrist "That! Stings!" he looked her directly in her eyes "Maybe if you held still it wouldn't sting half as much you big baby!" she yelled dragging her hand out of his grip. "Baby? I got hit in the head with a baton do you even know how much that hurts?" "You don't need to yell at me!" Kuki yelled offended "Who's yelling?" Wally asked furiously "You are!" "Oh yeah?" "Yeah!" "Well you're practically screaming making my ears hurt as if it's not enough that I have a blue eye and a hole in the head!" they looked each other angrily in the eyes before bursting out laughing for god knows which reason, but it felt right to laugh and it had felt right to have that silly pointless argument and in their fit of laughter they never noticed how close their head was to each other. Kuki wiped a few tears of laughter out of her eyes before continuing her little treatment of Wally "That felt good" she exclaimed "I never thought an argument could be fun" Wally chuckled a little "Yeah... It was pretty silly wasn't it?" "Totally silly" Kuki said finding a plaster from her first aid kit Wally cocked an eyebrow "Plaster?" "Yeah" Kuki smiled "It helps keep bacteria away from the wound" "That's a myth" Wally snorted "No it isn't" Kuki said applying the plaster to the wound "Yes it is, I don't need a plaster" Wally put his hand up to tear the plaster away which Kuki had put so perfectly on him, she took hold of his wrist to stop him and looked him directly in the eyes "Don't you even dare doing that" she said with fire growing in her eyes "Okay okay" he said waving his hands defensively in front of him making both of them laugh again.

* * *

1.30 am

"Well" Wilbert yawned "We better head home and get some rest" "Thanks for all of your help Mr. Beetles" Kani said shaking Wilbert's hand firmly "Anytime Mr. Sanban" Wilbert smiled "Anytime" "Well goodnight" Kayla smiled with the sleeping Joey in her arms "Goodnight" Genki smiled, Kuki shuffle a little on her feet feeling tears of fright traveling to her eyes. "Wait!" she said just as Wilbert was about to close the door "Can... Can Wally sleep over? Just... I feel safer when he's around and Derick is still out there somewhere and I just" the tears ran down her cheeks and she started shaking a little she was really scared, Wally looked worriedly at her then he looked at his mother and then at Mrs. Sanban. "Well" Kayla said" I don't mind if you don't mind" "I don't really mind it" Genki said looking pleadingly at Kani who looked very pale, one would almost think he had seen a ghost "A boy? Sleeping over?" he spat breathlessly "Kani" Genki pleaded "Look at her", Kani looked at his shaking daughter whose face was wet from all the tears already "Alright!" he sighed in defeat "But no numbers Beetles!" he said raising an index finger "Don't worry Mr. Sanban" Wally said reassuring "I wouldn't hurt your daughter even if I was paid for it".

* * *

1.50 am

Kuki and Wally had changed into their nightwear, Wally in his boxers and a white T-shirt and Kuki in pink pajama pants and a yellow T-shirt with a picture of a rainbow monkey on it, luckily for her Derick hadn't known her one man bed could be culled out to fit two people, but now Wally knew since she had culled it out for them, much against her father's will, and now Kuki had placed herself nearest the wall and Wally nearest the open room. He felt so unsure about this, he had never slept over at Kuki's and she had never slept over at his even if they had talked about it a few times, and now here he was in her three-in-one bed which she had culled out to a 'double bed' laying next to her. For some reason it just felt so close, so intimate, so uncertain making him nervous, why was it like this? It was not like they had anything going on! It was just an innocent sleepover with two friends... Well two friends of the opposite gender, but still... "Ehm Kuki?" "Hm?" she turned to him drowsily "You know" he swallowed a little "You know... Blood circulation travels in you entire body even down there... So um... When you wake up tomorrow don't be frightened if I have..." he swallowed again, god this was embarrassing "If I have a boner, 'cause it's pretty normal for guys to get that because of blood circulation" he felt like his head was going to explode, this was more than he had bargained for but he didn't want her to freak out if he had a boner in the morning. "I know" she mumbled "I wanna be a nurse you see" she looked at him drowsily "So I read that somewhere, but thanks for telling me" she gave him a little smile "That was really nice of you" she closed her eyes and pressed herself into him making him feel like he was going to explode all over again "What are you doing?" he asked her nervously "Cuddling" she mumbled tiredly "Makes me fell safe" she yawned before continuing "Hold me" she said. Wally felt his stomach turn from nervousness, he hadn't even held Amber when they had dated and now he was supposed to hold Kuki, if her dad came in and saw them like that he would definitely misunderstand it, but on the other hand Kuki had almost just been raped and needed some form of security. He was so tired, all of these weird emotions wasn't worth all his thoughts, he yawned loudly before he decided to obey her and hold her, just for tonight.

* * *

**Believe it or not but the boner thing is real; a friend of mine told me and she got told by a guy and he should know don't you think? ;P**

**I hope you enjoyed the fifteenth chapter of this fic, please leave your thoughts :3**

**Criticism and/or advices on how to improve are highly appreciated :)**

**~*~TippierCoffee~*~**


	16. Beatings

Written by: TippierCoffee

Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door, Mr. Tom Warburton does. I do however own all the other characters.

OBS: I gave Wally's parents names. Father: Wilbert Beetles, Mother: Kayla Beetles

Enjoy :)

* * *

Beatings

Sunday March 4th 2007

Warm... She snuggled closer burying her head in the softness of his chest, even if it was covered with a white T-shirt it was still so soft and so warm. She never wanted to leave this bed; not now, not ever. There was definitely nothing that could ever make her get up and leave this comfortable position, his arms rapped around her hugging her a little tighter as she scooted closer; no, this was heaven and she wasn't leaving it. "Kuki!" her mother called from downstairs, she sighed heavily and annoyed maybe if she didn't answer her mother would leave her alone, not one minute went by before her mother was knocking on her door and then she opened it without waiting for an answer "Kuki dear, it's time you got up, the people who're gonna put new glass in your window could be here any minute by now" "Mmm..." Kuki moaned displeased "Can't they wait a year or two?" "Now Kuki!" Genki scolded pulling the blanket off of Wally and Kuki "That goes for you too Wally!" she yelled loudly bringing life to the boy who grunted as a reply. "Up we go!" Genki yelled "Mmm!" Wally groaned letting go of Kuki and then turning to the other side, Genki let out a little sigh of annoyance before going downstairs again, Kuki shivered a little from suddenly being roped of her blanket _and_ Wally's warm embrace, even if it was spring and warmer then it had been all winter she was still feeling cold "I'm cold!" she wined trying to make Wally turn around again, he didn't answer. "I said!" Kuki lifted herself a little shaking the blond boy "I'm cold!" she yelled impatiently; Wally simply grunted and opened one eye lazily to look at her then he closed it again and went back to his slumber. Kuki's eyes widened a little, sure wally had told her he was a B person and enjoyed sleeping as much as possible but jeez! If this was how he was every morning when he finally got his sleep how in the world did Kayla then wake him up in the mornings? "Wally!" Kuki shook the boy violently and displeased "I'm cold! Why'd you let go of me?" "Jesus!" Wally groaned annoyed "Are you always this loud in the morning woman?" Kuki gasped offended and turned her head only to see her clock in the corner of her eye. "FYI Wally, it's 11.30 am so it's not morning anymore, it's almost afternoon you lazy butt!" he turned around with an annoyed groan and looked at her with annoyance in his eyes "Oi! Ye' worse than ma' mom!" he complained "Oh yeah?" "Yeah!" "My window is being replaced soon wally, we need to get up!". Wally stretched lazily "I thought you were complaining 'bout bein' cold?" he sat up looking her directly in her eyes, his hair was a mess standing to every possible side, he scratched it lazily and tried laying it down with a flat hand, he halfway succeeded in his attempt, even if his hair still looked like a mess at least it was laying down now. Kuki blushed furiously at is comment "It must've been something you dreamed!" she said crossing her arms and turning away from him with a light blush painting her cheeks "Sure if you say so" Wally yawned before stretching, Kuki eyed him from the corner of her eyes feeling like she longed to be embraced closely to his chest again, her blush deepened and her heart skipped a beat at the mere though, she shook her head as if it would make the thought disappear just like that, but of course it didn't. "By the way..." she said trying to get her mind to think of something else "Happy birthday Wally" he looked at her a little confused before realizing which date it was then he gave her a warm smile which made her heart beat pick up in speed "Thank you Kuki" why in the world was she blushing so much right now? "Breakfast!" Genki's voice yelled impatiently at the foot of the stairs "Don't make me come up there and throw cold water at you!" "We better get down" Wally said feeling nervous and scared at the same time "Dayo-ne?" Kuki giggled nervously.

* * *

1 pm

Kuki and Wally were walking side by side in the park just to see the scenery and enjoy being outside "Ano-ne... Wally?" "Hmm? What is it?" he looked at her worried expression, maybe they should have stayed home after all "I just..." a few tears prickled at her eyes before she shook her head "No it's nothing" she then said, Wally cocked an eyebrow and looked worriedly at her "Liar" he said sceptically taking her by the wrist to drag her to a near by bench, she sat down with him next to her their knees pointing towards each other "Tell me what it is Kuki, I can see on you that it's no nothing; I know you" she looked at him with the tears coming closer and closer until she broke down and let her tears run freely as she snuggled closely into his chest pulling at the fabric of his thick gray zip-up hood sweater. "I-I-I just..." she sobbed wailing loudly "I-I-I th-thought... I... I wa-as so sc-ared!" she snuggled closer into his chest, Wally looked down at her weary, of course she had shocked yesterday and her brain was only just realizing now just how scared she had been, just what she had experienced he embraced her body carefully at he shoulders and rubbed his thumb carefully on her shoulder. "It's okay Kuki... He can't touch you now" she snuggled closer still "I-I j-just... I-I th-thought... He wa-s gonna... Gonna" she wailed again shaking all over "He was" Wally mumbled quietly in her ear making her cry wail and shake even harder "But at least... This time I wasn't late" her sobs quieted down as she looked him in the eyes "You've ne-ever been, Wally" she hugged him again making him blush scarlet red. "You know... If ya' need ta talk 'bout it... I'm always 'ere to listen to ya' ei" "I know" she looked at him with eyes shimmering from all the tears she had cried. Badump! What was this feeling? This look... He felt like wanting to go closer to her but on the other hand he was scared, scared to scare her because of what she had just experienced, scared to ruin their friendship, he could do nothing but to be hypnotized by her shimmering eyes. "Wally?" she tilted her head a little "Yeah?" he asked breathlessly "You look red" she put a hand on his forehead "Do you have a cold?" wally shook his head a little too violently to get her hand off "Who me? No 'fcouse not!" "Hm? Sou-daro?" "quit with the Japanese, I dun' understand it!" "Then quit with the accent" she teased sticking her tongue out "This only happen when I'm angry or nervous ye' cruddy sheila!" "Really?" he had definitely spoken over him this time, a blush spread across his cheeks. "so which one are you right now?" she giggled drying her tears away forgetting about them, this was much more interesting "Non of ya' busyness!" he looked away from her avoiding her eyes "Tell me" she begged in a sing-song voice "No!" "Teeel me~" "No" "Come on Wally~ Tel me, tell me, tell me... Pleeease~?" ugh! What was she trying to, he looked at her just to see her pull out her puppy-dog eyes "Ugh crud!" he said rubbing the back of his neck "Hey you!" a familiar voice yelled from their left in a fair distance, Kuki began twitching and shaking holding onto Wally as if she would never let go, and who would blame her when he was there staring at her with cold golden eyes, Kuki whimpered and tried to hide behind Wally, which was hard since they were sitting on a bench next to each other. "What do you want Mars man?" Wally asked furiously standing up with fire in his eyes staring at Derick and the four guys he had brought over "It's not Mars man you idiot! It's Knuckles!" "Knuckles?" Wally snickered "What kind of name is that?" he started laughing a little feeling like it was only to ease Kuki up, but of course she was scared and nervous. "Hey Knuckles" one of the other guys whispered "What now Speed?" "That guy is one of Kris' guys" "Oh yeah?" he looked at Wally "One of Kris' guys huh?" "I'm not one of Kris' guys" Derick ignored him "Which one?" "No one!" Wally hissed feeling like he was getting more pissed than he should "you know his name Knuckles" the guy called Speed asked "My sugar said something like Wally" Derick said eying his friend "Wally..." Speed said "That must be Beetles then" "How would you know?" Derick asked sceptically "I knew Kris, a real puss... Just because his brother is cop and can get him out of trouble he thinks he's all high and mighty... He was nothing but a lice". Derick sighed heavily watching as Kuki stood up to clutch onto Wally's blouse and Wally looked like he wanted to be able to shoot lasers out from his eyes and kill these guys. "Look Beetles" Derick said annoyed "Give me my sugar back or I'll kill you" he was dead serious. Wally removed Kuki's arms from him and stepped aside, she couldn't believe it, was Wally actually just going to give her back to this creep? "Then I guess you'll have to kill me" Wally said staring at Derick with the same cold eyes he had, golden to emerald -You're kidding me?- Kuki thought horrified, she'd rather want to be abused by a psycho than for wally to die "Wally" she whispered clutching on tighter to his blouse "Run home" Wally whispered to her, run home? While he was here fighting? A thing he said he'd never do again? No way, no way, no way!

* * *

She was running with tears in her eyes and guilt in her stomach, why was she running? She should be helping him! She should be! But how? Wally... In a fight with four other guys... Alone... No way! She wouldn't let that happen! Then why was she letting it happen? Wait... She wasn't... Beep, beep, beep "9-1-1 what's the nature of your emergency?"

* * *

Thwak! "What's wrong Beetles? Can't fight?" Wally lay on the ground looking up at the guys with a bruised eye and a bloody nose, he couldn't breath so well, it felt like a couple of his ribs had broken, what the hell was these guys problems? He tried getting up but one of them just kicked him down and then Speedy started stumping and stumping and stumping until Wally's breakfast landed on the surface looking disgusting pink-ish because of the blood. His vision became blurry as yet another kick was placed on his ribs and one in his template, blurrier, blurrier, darker and darker until suddenly, feet scattered running from the place and sirens came closer and closer and closer...

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed the sixteenth chapter of this fic, please leave your thoughts :3**

**Criticism and/or advices on how to improve are highly appreciated :)**

**~*~TippierCoffee~*~**


	17. Hospital I

Written by: TippierCoffee

Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door, Mr. Tom Warburton does. I do however own all the other characters.

OBS: I gave Wally's parents names. Father: Wilbert Beetles, Mother: Kayla Beetles

Enjoy :)

* * *

Hospital I

No way... All ribs broken. It's my fault... Nose broken. All of it... Jaw broken. Just because... Severe concussion. Just because I couldn't... Minor skull fraction. Gomenasai...

Coma...

* * *

"_Please miss you I need you to calm down" "Ah sorry" she sobbed "Now" the 9-1-1 lady said "Tell me where you are" "In the park... Please you need to help him! They're gonna..." her voice became squeaky "They're gonna kill him!" she started crying "Please! Help him... He's about a kilometer away from where I'm calling! Please!"

* * *

_

Please... Save him... I need him... "Kuki?" Kuki spun around to stand face to face with Mrs. Beetles "Kayla" she sobbed "I..." Kayla hushed her with a kind smile "Don't blame yourself Kuki dear" she then said Kuki nodded sadly but couldn't help it, if she had been able to fight and stand up for herself, then Wally wouldn't be where he was now. It was all her fault, just because she couldn't protect herself, a tear escaped her eye "Gomene" she said with a shiver in her voice "I didn't mean for him to..." again Kayla hushed her and went over to hug her to calm her a little down "Don't be sorry dear, it's not your fault..." Kayla sighed deeply before continuing "I told your mom about it, so she should be coming to make sure you're okay any moment now" Kayla's voice got a little shaky "If you'd excuse me, I've got to fill in some papers and have a little conversation with the staff here" she let go of Kuki who gave her a little nod. My fault...

* * *

_The sirens stopped right in front of Kuki, they had tracked her phone, officer Matthews stepped out "Oh, miss Sanban!" he exclaimed "What can we help you with this time?" this time? Last time they hadn't even helped her! This was their fault! She shook her head as if to shake the thought out, then she began running towards where Wall should be, the police officers followed right in her tail "Miss Sanban" officer Matthews yelled behind her "Miss Sanban wait!", wait? She had already waited too long!_

_There was a boy laying subconsciously on the ground, his blond hair and gray blood-covered zip-up hood sweater was not to be mistaken; Wally!

* * *

_

_Flash, flash, click, flash. Beep, beep, beep "Yes?""Kayla..." "Kuki!" her voice sounded happy "I... It's Wally... He..." "What? What happened to Wally?" her voice sounded worried..._

_She sobbed and cried on the other end of the line in tact with Kuki "Kayla... I'm sorry... I couldn't help..."_

"_We need your testimony and descriptions" a tall police officer told her as an ambulance drove off with Wally, Kayla drove her to the police station and then she drove her to the hospital._

"_Mrs. Beetles" a nurse said concerned "Your son has suffered severe damage, he's broken all of his ribs, his nose, his jaw and he's gotten a severe concussion and a milder skull fraction; as for now we put him in coma, but if stays there is up to you. I know it's hard Mrs. Beetles, but we need you to sign whether you want him to stay in coma or whether you want to unplug him, if you decide to let him stay you also have to understand we have to operate a little on him to save his ribs"_

_Nothing... Nothing but silence and tears flooding the floor... Wally! My dear Wally...

* * *

_

Coma... For how long? How long would he have to stay there before he'd wake up if Kayla didn't just unplug him right away? No! She definitely _had_ to give him a chance to come back to them, she just _had_ to! Kayla came out of the room, 134, and looked at Kuki with a sad smile "I" she sobbed and sighed heavily trying to restrain herself, but of course it was hard for her, this would be the second time she lost her son for a longer period of time "I need him to fight for a while" tears flooded her face "he-he's so strong... I-I need to g-give him a chance" Kuki nodded shakily and felt tears streaming down her face "Can I..." Kuki started "I need to see him" Kayla looked at her worriedly "I can't really forbid you that... But... It's a pretty depressing sight" she then looked a little around "Hasn't Genki come yet?" Kuki shook her head "Not yet" Kayla nodded weakly "If you need me I'll be in the waiting room" Kuki nodded and went to room 134 and opened the door.

Beep, kha. Uso... Beep, kha. Wally... Beep, kha. Wally!

Wally was laying flat on his back, his pants, socks and zip-up hood sweater had been taken off so he was laying in boxers and T-shirt underneath a white blanket, his arms were on top of the blanket with drips in it leading up to some liquid and some... Was that liquid food? Disgusting... He had a tube shoved in his mouth to help him breathe and his head had been wrapped in gauze hiding most of his blond hair away. Wally! She leaned her head lightly on his chest and clutched onto the blanket crying endless tears. No way! It was all her fault! Just because... Just because she couldn't... -I'm sorry... Wally-

* * *

**I feel sorry for Kuki :( Must be hard having your best friend in a coma :(**

**I hope you enjoyed the seventeenth chapter of this fic, please leave your thoughts :3**

**Criticism and/or advices on how to improve are highly appreciated :)**

**~*~TippierCoffee~*~**


	18. Hospital II

Written by: TippierCoffee

Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door, Mr. Tom Warburton does. I do however own all the other characters.

OBS: I gave Wally's parents names. Father: Wilbert Beetles, Mother: Kayla Beetles

Enjoy :)

* * *

Hospital II

_She was laughing with Wally in the park stopping in front of a lake, Wally held her closely in a warm embrace which she returned with a smile on her lips and a blush spreading across her cheeks "Why did you leave me sugar?" Kuki's eyes widened in shock as she looked up to see cold frightening golden eyes instead of warm assuring emerald eyes "D-Derick... What are you..." she was about to ask what he was doing but she never got to before he pulled out a gun and fired it, the bullet hit her head and she fell, fell, fell...

* * *

_

_Bump! Kuki opened her eyes with a loud gasp feeling the sweat prickle at her face, she was slightly hyperventilating while she looked around in her room, her window had been replaced while Wally and her went for a walk which was why her mother had been so long coming to the hospital, she had to wait for the men replacing the window to leave and for her father to come home before she could leave. She had come to the hospital searching for Kuki who somehow had fallen asleep between all of her tears and slept right until now, Kuki got up to look at the clock 1.30 am which technically meant that it was Monday March 5th , Kuki yawned loudly getting up from the floor when she spotted a figure with blond hair in her bed which was still culled out, he opened one of his eyes lazily ad looked at her worriedly "You okay Kuki?" she was stunned, no speechless; how could Wally be laying in her bed if he was at the hospital? He sat up looking at her with shimmering eyes "What's wrong Kuki?" "W-Wally?" "Yeah?" he cocked an eyebrow at her while an uncertain smile formed on his lips "Wh...What are you doing here?" "You invited me to sleep over, remember?" Kuki gazed around in her room realizing that her window was still covered with wood to keep out thieves and chill, wait... Was it only Sunday? Kuki fell to her knees breaking down crying it took Wally five seconds to get out of the bed and come down to her "Hey... What's wrong Kuki? What happened?" "I just..." she sobbed again, had it all just been a dream? She was so confused right now "I had a terrible dream" she cried, Wally embraced her tightly and then picked her up to place them back in the bed caressing her hair "Tell me about it... Your nightmare" "I... First I dreamed that Derick came to beat you up with four of his friends and then you ended in a coma and then I dreamed Derick shot me with a gun" she cried a little louder halfway wondering why her parents didn't hear her between all of her sobs. "Shh" Wally hushed her "It's okay... It was just a dream Kuki, I'm not going anywhere okay?" she looked at him with teary eyes "P-Promise?" she sobbed "Promise" he smiled wiping her tears away with his thumb. "Come" he said laying down and dragging her with him "Go back to sleep, nothing's gonna happen to you" Kuki nodded silently snuggling up to his chest "Goodnight Wally" she sighed exhausted "Goodnight Kuki" "M... Happy birthday" she yawned falling asleep again.

* * *

_

Monday March 5th 2007 7 am

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Kuki opened her eyes slowly, they still felt wet from the tears she had cried yesterday. Why was her alarm clock ringing if it was Sunday? She usually slept to 9.30 in the weekend, she snuggled closer to Wally only to feel that he was strangely soft and practically didn't have a body, she opened her eyes to examine him, but he wasn't there; rather than snuggling into Wally she was just hugging her pillow tightly, her bed had been culled back only making a one-man bed now, her window had been fixed and Wally... Where was he? Which of the dreams had been dreams and which ones had actually been real? She turned off her alarm clock lazily and sat up in her bed she felt dizzy and confused, if she was in her room now then she hadn't been to the hospital to see Wally, if she hadn't been to the hospital to see Wally that meant Wally wasn't at the hospital at all and if Wally wasn't at the hospital at all then he should be laying next to her and it should be Sunday and her window should still be broken and she wouldn't have set her alarm clock to go off this early. Genki came up the stairs to check on her oldest daughter "Oh Kuki you're awake, that's good" she smiled worriedly at Kuki "How are you feeling Kuki-chan? Are you okay? Would you rather stay home from school today?" "Hahaoya!" Kuki interrupted "Please I'm so confused" she held her head lightly feeling like she was getting headache "Which day is it?" "It's Monday dear" he mother sat down on the edge of her bed "I couldn't come before five pm yesterday and by that time you had cried yourself to sleep in Wally's hospital room". It all came back to her and hit her like a violent hit to the head with a baseball bat, Wally saving her from being raped, Derick taking revenge by beating him up, Wally being in a coma on the hospital in room 134; tears started to prickle at her eyes all over, her stomach started to tie itself to knots and her heart felt like it was being shattered into millions and millions of pieces, the tears started flowing freely and her body started trembling as she fell back on her bed and turned to her stomach hugging her pillow so tightly that her arms started cramping and her fingers turned red, crying and crying and crying.

* * *

10 am

"I need to visit Wallabee Beetles" Kuki said with lifeless eyes and a sad voice, she didn't even really know why, she just needed to see Wally; no, she _had_ to. "I'm sorry miss he's currently beong operated on" operated? Now she remembered, because Wally's mother had said yes to let him stay in a coma, which meant the doctors had to operate on his ribs. "When will they be done with that?" Kuki asked very anxiously "Hmm..." the info lady clicked on her mouse and strolled around in her computer "According to this schedule they should be done around elven thirty; maybe twelve", that long? Why would it take that long? What were they going to do to him? "Ano" she put her attention to the info lady again "Do you think I can sit in his room and wait for him?" "Hmm..." she thought a little "I don't see why not, but if they ask you to leave then obey them please" "Of course" Kuki said headed for room 134 she want in just to see that the room was empty and the window had been opened to get some air in the room and avoid it getting stuffy. The room looked so empty with the bed missing, of course they had drove him to the operating room in his bed, she got seated on a chair fiddling impatiently with her fingers. A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she started wondering how in the world she should be able to just sit here for bout two hours and wait, what could she preoccupy her brain with? If she just sat here wondering and wondering how it was going, if everything went as it should, if Wally's body could survive this; all of these thoughts made tars prickle at her eyes and her throat went dry as her body started trembling. No! She could definitely not just sit here and wait forever she had to do _something_ to get some of these thoughts out of her head and focus on different things, she went to the hall using some of the money her mother had given her, if she got hungry or thirsty, to go to a venting machine and buy some hot chocolate, she got seated in one of the chairs and sipped it slowly -Wally...- it was all her fault for him being here, even if she had blamed the officers for not following Derick even if they both had told them so many times then she now realized that it was all her fault, just because she couldn't stand up to herself and fight, or defend herself or at the very least help him defending her. Tears started rolling down her cheeks as her hands stated shaking almost spilling the chocolate which became salty from her tears falling down in it she started whimpering trying her hardest to hold back a bawl, quick silent sobs exited her mouth making it sound like she was hyperventilating, what was she supposed to do now? What could she do? How could she make sure that Wally was okay?

Nothing; absolutely nothing... she began whimpering with squeaky sounds and tears falling endlessly down her face, no matter how much hot chocolate she drank it would just taste bitter now, bitter and salty. She felt so guilty of this and if Wally died then; then it would be her fault...

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed the eighteenth chapter of this fic, please leave your thoughts :3**

**Criticism and/or advices on how to improve are highly appreciated :)**

**~*~TippierCoffee~*~**


	19. Hospital III

Written by: TippierCoffee

Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door, Mr. Tom Warburton does. I do however own all the other characters.

OBS: I gave Wally's parents names. Father: Wilbert Beetles, Mother: Kayla Beetles

Enjoy :)

* * *

Hospital III

"_If you just keep sitting here and crying don't you think you'll make him sad?" Kimmy looked at her with worried eyes "Yeah Kuki" Max butted in "I know you know Wally and I do too and let me tell you I really think it would sadden him to see you like this" "Yeah Kuki" Kimmy tried helping her boyfriend convincing Kuki to do something other than just clutching on to Wally's blanket and sobbing in it "I heard you can subconsciously hear what's going on around you and I really think Wally would be happier if you told him about how your day of school had been rather than if you just sat here the entire day staring blankly at him breaking down every thirty second". Kuki looked at them, sure she understood that they worried for her, but they just didn't understand what was going on here, they didn't understand her thoughts; she __had__ to be here when Wally woke up... She just had to... If he woke up... The thought about him not waking up ever again send new tears to her eyes and she started crying "Kimmy" she whined silently "I don't know what to do... What if he won't wake up?" "What?" Max said almost offended "Of course he'll wake up, I mean it's Beetles for Christ's sake, he's strong, I know he is and you know it too, so don't you think that!" Kuki fiddled a little with her feet "sorry" she mumbled, of course Wally would make it out alive because he was strong like that, and if she believed in him and he could feel that then he would believe a little more in himself, she wiped her eyes "Thank you guys" she said with a little smile.

* * *

_

Wednesday April 4th 2007 16.05 pm

"Well hello again Kuki" the information lady (Tanya Underwood) greeted as Kuki entered "Oh, hi Tanya" Kuki smiled "Can I go see Wally or is he being checked on right now?" "Hmm..." Tanya clicked a little around in the computer "No, his check-up should be done by now" she turned her attention from the screen to Kuki with a smile "I guess you can just skip ahead to go see him then, but remember to be quiet, it is the trauma department after all" "I know" Kuki smiled "Thank you as always Tanya" "You're welcome Kuki" and with that Kuki skipped up the stairs and down the white halls to get to the trauma department and find Wally's room; 134...

Many times while she had been walking down these halls where only pure white existed she had been wondering why she even bothered speaking to Wally when he was in coma and therefore couldn't reply her, even she didn't know the answer to that question, she felt so hopeless some times, like she was clinging on to a dream. She had to face facts, whether she liked it or not, Wally had already been here for a month without moving a muscle, the doctors had exchanged his tube with a mask a week after he had gotten in because his nose had healed pretty quickly, but he didn't move... Not even his eyes moved below his closed eyelids so maybe he wasn't even dreaming right now, maybe he was just seeing black until someone decided what to do next; and what about Kayla? How long would she let him be here and just lay there with no sign of ever waking up? Would she let him stay here for another week? Or another month? Or another year? Just how long could Kayla cope with her oldest son being in a coma? Every day Kuki would feel so weary, fearful and helpless; for she could do nothing but to just sit at the side line and cheer for him... All the decisions was for his parents to make... She could do nothing... Nothing but keep pulling a smile for him even if she wanted to cry and tell about how much fun she had today when in reality it was so empty without him there, she would love to be able to laugh and laugh and tell him that everything was okay, but the truth was that she missed him terribly and she was getting so tired of people whispering behind her back how sorry they felt for her because of her best friend being here. She just wanted them to shut up and stick to their own business, it was irritating for people to always pity her and try to comfort her, even people she didn't know and who only knew her because roomers about this had traveled so fast. She knocked the door to room 134 before entering it she new it was weird, but she did it anyways in case if he had woken up and was changing or something, yes she was pathetic she didn't understand why she was clinging so desperately onto the hope of him ever opening his eyes, but she was and she really wanted to be there when he did open them 'cause he was going to... Wasn't he?

No one replied so Kuki took it that no one was inside and therefore opened the door and entered with a silent "Excuse me", she couldn't explain why all of her good manners suddenly came out like this here in this room, she really couldn't, but she was right about no one being in here; no one but Wally plugged into a machine covered with sensors and a drip on each hand, Kuki sighed heavily seeing him just lay there breathing heavily with the help from a machine, even he was helpless here. She pulled 'her chair' to the bed and got seated with the backpack at the foot of the chair "Hi Wally" she said a little too dull but still with a smile on her lips, she cleared her throat trying to make herself sound a little happier "Ano... I know I'm a little late today, but I was out looking for a get-well-soon-card and well... I couldn't find any so I made one myself and..." she fiddled a little in her backpack. "Here it was she mumbled as she fished up a heart shaped red card "Since I couldn't find a card I thought I'd make one myself and well... My favorite shape is heart and your favorite color is orange, but I couldn't find any orange cardboard anywhere so I made it red instead... I hope that's okay", she looked at a little at the small dresser with three drawers in it, on top of it was a couple of get-well-soon gifts for Wally, the football team had sent Max to give a picture of the team where he had written 'Get out soon Beetles! We miss you on the team' and then everyone from the team had signed their names underneath. They had also decided to invest in a purple glitter-covered teddy bear with neon yellow paws, not because they thought he'd like it, all of them had agreed that it was pretty ugly. The teddy bear was no bigger than a rainbow monkey and around it's neck was a note in a pink string which said: 'We know this is not your style, but we thought it'd make you laugh'. His parents had put a family picture by his bed as a reminder how much they loved him and Joey had made him a drawing of himself and Wally waving and smiling next to each other and on the back of the paper he had written in big blue crayon letters 'Miss you Wally; from Joey'. Kuki looked at her own card which had been written with a glitter-pen in silver she just hoped he liked it, "Ano..." her voice was cracking over "I'm gonna put my card here right next to the gift you got from the football team" tears started strolling down her cheeks as she put her card down on the dresser, she wiped them away with fury -Don't cry- "Next time I'll bring the picture we got taken months back, I want you to see me smiling even if I'm not here when you wake up".

Wally just _had_ to wake up; he just _had_ to... Without him Kuki felt like she was incomplete, like a piece of who made her, her was missing... That piece couldn't move at all right now.

* * *

_Kuki knocked on the door to the Beetles' house in despair Kayla opened it and looked at Kuki, her eyes looked red and her gaze looked lifeless "Oh, hi Kuki dear" she said dull without forming her usual smile, of course it worried Kuki a little but she had other things to think about "Kayla! Someone made a terrible mistake! I heard that they're gonna unplug Wally on May 4th! We have to stop them Kayla!" "Kuki..." Kayla looked at her sadly "No one made a mistake... Wilbert and I can't keep fooling ourselves... We have to face fact and you do too... Wally is not going to wake up and it hurts so much to see him laying there without being able to reach him... It's better for him if we let him move on..." What? What was she saying? "Kayla?..." Kuki's voice dropped and she felt her heart sink to her stomach "Did you... Did you sign?..." had Kayla signed a paper telling them to unplug Wally? Kayla nodded "Why?" Kuki could feel the tears prickle at her eyes "I just told you Kuki... We have no more hope and it hurts to see him like that... We can't keep fooling ourselves..." no way!. Kuki backed away, turned around and ran for the hospital with tears in her eyes, this was not fair! She couldn't just do that! Why would she do that?_

_Eight am... Eight am on Friday May 4 2007... At that day, at that time... Wally would be unplugged and there was nothing Kuki could do about it. All of his get-well-soon gifts were still there meaning that even if his mother had made this decision she still had a tiny bit of hope in her somewhere "Wally" Kuki pulled 'her chair' over to the bed and leaned down clutching onto Wally's blanket near his chest tears flying out of her eyes "Wally please don't leave me, please don't leave me!"

* * *

_

Friday May 4th 2007 7.30 am

Kuki had stayed here the entire week nt wanting to go to school, she had slept over with special permission from the staff and hoped with all of her heart and prayed with all of her mind for Wally to wake up, but nothing had happened and nothing was going to happen. She had not been able to sleep the entire night and she could feel it in her stinging eyes and in her heavy head and on her heavy body "Please Wally" she said tiredly, almost lifelessly, looking at the boy with dropping eyes then at the clock "Please don't leave me..."

* * *

8 am

Nothing... Still nothing... So tired... Don't fail me... Kuki was staring intensely at Wally knowing that he could open his eyes any minute now _"We can't keep fooling ourselves..."_ Kuki shook her head as if to shake the echo of Kayla's voice out of her head, no! Wally had promised her that he wasn't going anywhere so he was going to wake up, he _was_! She could feel it, any moment now! The door opened and a nurse came inside of the room "Miss Sanban" she greeted politely trying to lighten the tension, Kuki looked up at her quickly without really realizing who she was and then went back to staring at Wally, the nurse scribbled a few things on a piece of paper and then looked at the boy, his blond hair had more or less grown to his shoulders, stubs covered most of his chin as well as his jaw line, one could clearly tell he had been doing nothing but just laying here for about two months. "Well Mr. Beetles" the nurse said as if he could hear her "I am really sorry but I have my orders" Kuki looked up only just realizing that the nurse was a nurse, she opened her mouth to scream something to her but nothing could come out. The nurse went over to the socket outlet which was in charge of the mask working, put her key in a special lock they had installed so people couldn't just turn it off and on as they pleased, and shot down the system helping Wally breathe. She went out again to get the doctors in charge of pulling out all the drips and sensors and as the door closed Kuki could feel her tears falling endlessly down her cheeks as the line went flat.

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**Well... That was pretty much it right?**

**Or was it?**

**Next chapter will be the final chapter, will a miracle happen or is this the definitive end? Only next chapter can tell.**

**I hope you enjoyed the nineteenth chapter of this fic, please leave your thoughts :3**

**Criticism and/or advices on how to improve are highly appreciated :)**

**~*~TippierCoffee~*~**


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